Mercedes: “We are not in a position to compete with those ahead of us”
Mercedes accepts it cannot catch McLaren, Ferrari or Red Bull in the championship as it prepares to use the final three races of the season to better understand the car’s weaknesses.
Although Mercedes made progress in the middle of the season by winning three races, they were unable to maintain this form until the end of the season.
Both drivers struggled with balance and setup issues in the wet conditions of the Interlagos race, preventing them from finishing in the podium.
With the gap to Red Bull widening to 162 points with three races left in the season, track engineering director Andrew Shovlin said the team would focus on overcoming these issues.
“The most important thing we’ve learned is that our weak corners are still the same corners: connected, slow corners,” Shovlin said.
“So going into the weekend, we were expecting to struggle in Brazil, especially in the second sector.”
“It is very important for us to learn as much as possible in the remaining races because we are in a position where we cannot compete with those ahead of us in the championship.”
“Driving in the wet in Brazil was useful because we had to get to know the car in those conditions.
“There are always a few wet qualifying and race sessions throughout the year. It was reassuring to see the pace was good in those conditions.”
“But we will look at the remaining tracks to fully assess the performance. We will confirm what we understand from this car and whether the changes we hope to make for next year will improve the problem areas.”
“Vegas has a lot of straights and low-speed corners, whereas Qatar is a faster track,” Shovlin said of areas that could be improved.
“Then we will see how we perform by finishing in Abu Dhabi, which is a mix of everything.”
“This will allow us to identify the gap we need to close over the winter.”
