F1 2022: Mercedes struggling to keep pace with Formula One title challengers

Lewis Hamilton’s dream of reclaiming the Formula 1 title could be threatened by a car which is struggling to keep pace with his rivals. Find out more about Mercedes’ problems.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren

Mercedes are second in the constructors’ championship, 40 points behind Ferrari but one point ahead of Red Bull.

Both of their cars have scored points in the two races so far, unlike Red Bull, but this masks the reality that, with 21 races remaining, Mercedes are in the perilous position of already being out of the title race.

For all the sceptics in pre-season testing who thought that the team were sandbagging — deliberately underperforming to conceal their car’s capabilities — as Formula One leaves the desert, it is clear that the Mercedes is only the third-fastest car on the grid. Even that may be slightly flattering, as Lewis Hamilton said after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on Sunday that he was struggling to keep up with the pace of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.

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Hamilton is fifth in the drivers’ standings, 29 points behind the leader, Charles Leclerc, and six behind his Mercedes teammate, George Russell.

Of course, there is every possibility that Ferrari or Red Bull could suffer a DNF (did not finish), just as Red Bull did with both of their cars at the season opener in Bahrain, but Mercedes cannot rely on the misfortunes of others if they want to stay in the title hunt.

Russell, 24, has pinpointed the main problem with the car, which he says is “99 per cent” to do with porpoising – violent bouncing on the straights.

Lewis Hamilton on track in Saudi Arabia.

The easiest way to fix that problem is to raise the ride height of the car, but then that loses speed.

If they cannot find a solution to that, Russell said candidly, then they can kiss the championship goodbye.

“If we don’t manage to find some improvements, there’s no way we’ll be in with a shot of fighting for the championship,” Russell said.

“I did my best to keep up with the Red Bulls but we’re one second behind them generally and we’ve got work to do.

“Everybody knows what we need to improve on. We finished 30 seconds behind them after probably 30 laps behind the safety car.

“We’re continuing to learn, but we need to make some leaps and bounds and we’re struggling to find that silver bullet to resolve our issues.

Hamilton trails his teammate George Russell early in the F1 season.

“I’ve got no doubt when we do that we will find that chunk of lap time, but it’s easier said than done. We are going to start trying to develop the car around the issues but we need to solve the underlying problem, which is the porpoising. All of these cars perform best at low ride height, and we can’t get anywhere close to where our rivals are running. We’re doing everything we can back at base to try and emulate the issues we are seeing on track and I’m sure we can solve it.”

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, has been honest in his assessment of his team, labelling them the third-quickest in the field, and clear on the urgency of finding a solution. He described the latest race result in Jeddah as “an exercise in humility”.

“We had the luxury of being in the middle of those fun games at the front these past eight years,” Wolff said. “As an F1 stakeholder I’m benefiting from a great show, but on the other side, it’s extremely painful to be not part of the fun games by quite a chunk of a deficit.

“We are not going to rest until we are back in the mix. It’s no fun at all. The exercise in humility will make us stronger in the end. The cars delivered on what F1 hoped for [from regulation changes this season] – great overtaking and providing a great show.

“F1 has achieved what they wanted to: spectacular racing, good overtaking and the grid has been shaken up. The midfield is extremely close, so overall I’m happy about the hype around F1. But we are not running the car where we wanted. I would hope the gap is closer than what we have seen, but there are deficits everywhere.”

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes, Fernando Alonso of Spain and Alpine F1 and Esteban Ocon of France and Alpine F1.

There are some positives for Mercedes to take. After an underwhelming start in Sunday’s race for Hamilton, 37, when he managed to make up only one place to be 14th by the end of the first lap, he made light work of rising through the field once he got his hard tyres to work. He was as high as sixth at one point, and if it were not for the bad timing of a virtual safety car and the pit entry being closed he would have finished higher. Mostly, his poor race had everything to do with a disappointing Saturday, when he qualified 16th, his worst performance on pace since 2009.

Russell, at least, put in a solid performance. He did not have the car to perform better than fifth and while Hamilton was able to keep pace with him at times despite being on old, slower tyres, it is likely that Russell was not really pushing, given he was fighting no one in front or behind. Mercedes will be happy with their new driver’s weekend.

They now have two weeks to solve their problems before the next race, in Melbourne. However, for every step Mercedes take forward, it is almost certain that Ferrari and Red Bull will take one too.

RICCIARDO’S GRIM REALITY: JUST HOW BAD ARE MCLAREN?

Rebecca Williams

Daniel Ricciardo is not expecting any overnight fixes for McLaren at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend as the Australian star predicted it could be a “slow grind” for his team early in the season.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner experienced a forgettable start to the Formula One season after missing the final pre-season test in Bahrain when he contracted Covid.

Ricciardo’s fortunes didn’t improve in the opening race last week, having a qualifying shocker and finishing 14th – one spot ahead of teammate Lando Norris – in Bahrain as the team struggled for pace.

But Ricciardo conceded it was unlikely there was going to be a dramatic form turnaround for McLaren for this weekend’s race at Jeddah.

“I guess realistically, probably not a whole lot in a week as far as developments and stuff go,” Ricciardo said.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren has not had much luck of late

“I think the optimism we will carry into this weekend is (it’s a) completely new track and it could make the car behave very differently, so maybe that swings a bit more into our favour.

“But I think from where we are now there are no overnight fixes, so it might be a bit of a slow grind for now but potentially some tracks might help us out a little bit.”

Ricciardo was hopeful forthcoming updates for the McLaren cars might help push the team closer to the points but said the target at the front of the grid would keep moving.

“I think in the short-term, let’s say in the next half a dozen races, I think we will have a few little updates and it might give us a little bit and hopefully get us closer to the points but I think the reality is the target is always going to be moving,” Ricciardo said.

“The top teams aren’t going to stand still so I think for us to make a bigger impression it will realistically take a bit more time unless a track just suits the style of our car and we might have the odd strong result.

“I know it all sounds fairly pessimistic but I think for now there is nothing telling us that we are going to be a top five car in the next two or three races yet, unfortunately a bit of time from where we are.”

Ricciardo admitted his lost pre-season test did leave him playing catch up in the opening race due to lack of time in the new car, but did not want that to linger as an excuse.

Physically, Ricciardp admitted he had felt the effects of his Covid bout during last week’s race but had since recovered well.

Should Ricciardo have ever left Red Bull?

“Going into (last) weekend …. thorough experience and confidence I was like ‘Yeah, I’ll get back up to speed by qualifying, there’s no excuses I’ll be back on it’,” Ricciardo said.

“The three days I missed …. a day and a half (in the car), but three days to nil compared to Lando and it was just a bit too much to catch up and kind of gather all that knowledge with a new car.

“I felt like I got within a certain level quite early on but then to make that next step I was just then a step behind really for the majority of the weekend.

“Coming into Saudi now we kind of start fresh and I don’t want the excuse of missing the test to carry over for the next six races. That is put to bed now and I will put myself back on a level playing field.

“Physically, I think getting through practice and stuff I was OK but the race was a little more difficult than what it normally would be.

“It’s just been a slow process getting back to let’s say full health. But I’m now at a point where I feel pretty good and like the last three days since the race I have recovered quite well and I would say I feel as good as normal.”

FERRARI CALM EXPECTATIONS

Carlos Sainz reminded Ferrari and their legion of Italian fans to stay focused and realistic on ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the second in the Formula One season.

The Spaniard, who came home second behind Charles Leclerc in Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as Ferrari claimed their first one-two since 2019, warned that it will not be as straightforward or easy to win again.

“Even if we got both cars to the top of the podium positions in the opening race, we have to remember that we can’t rule out anyone else from this season’s fight,” he said.

“So, we need to stay focused and try to develop our car correctly. Mercedes and Red Bull will improve rapidly – but we expect that.” Sainz, 27, joined Ferrari on a two-year contract from the 2021 season, replacing Sebastian Vettel, after two seasons with McLaren.

“For me, it is the first time, or it seems it might be, that I may have a title-winning car to count on, so I think I will try to get into this fight and have some fun. I will try to enjoy it this year,” said Sainz.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto was impressed by his team’s performance in Bahrain but expects it will be another three or four races before it is clear which teams were in the title scrap.

Red Bull were strong challengers in Bahrain, with world champion Max Verstappen running second close behind Leclerc until he was forced into retirement by fuel problems. His teammate Sergio Perez missed out on a podium finish with the same issue. Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes.

Sainz added, in an interview with Spanish radio, that he and Leclerc would be free to race without team orders for the time being.

“If one of us stands out and gains a lead in the standings, the other will help in the championship,” he said.

“That happens in all teams. What matters is taking part in the battle. The ideal situation would be to compete for the title between us without having the pressure of other teams – and really I would like to be at the top!”

Race winner Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari and Third placed Lewis Hamilton

RED BULL CLEAR ON REAL ISSUE

Red Bull team consultant Helmut Marko has declared his team will be ‘fighting for victory’ in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after diagnosing the cause of their fuel problems.

The team suffered a double ‘did not finish’ in Bahrain last Sunday after their cars suffered fuel loss in the closing laps.

Marko explained that the problem was caused by a ‘vacuum’ in the fuel system of the ‘new era’ ground effect cars, halting both world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez.

Marko contradicted suggestions that they had run out of fuel because they were not filled up sufficiently to complete the race distance.

Marko told F1 Insider that the problem will be solved this weekend. “Put simply, a vacuum in system caused the engine to run out of fuel. I think we can solve the problem this weekend,” he said.

“Without giving exact figures, there was still enough petrol in the tank of both cars. Basically we were fast enough. We were just not able to show our potential. We will be back this time at full speed and fighting for victory.”

IS VETTEL BACK?

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel faces a race against time to prove he has shaken a bout of Covid-19 for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Aston Martin team said on Thursday.

Aston Martin said that Vettel has not yet registered a negative test after falling ill and missing last weekend’s season-opening race in Bahrain where ‘supersub’ and fellow-German Nico Hulkenberg took over.

The team said they would make a final decision before the opening practice session on Jeddah’s street circuit.

“Sebastian Vettel has not yet returned the required negative COVID test to fly to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix,” the team said. “Nico Hulkenberg will be in Jeddah to deputise for Seb if necessary.” “We will delay our final decision until Friday to provide Seb every opportunity to race.”