Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Mercedes enjoyed their most competitive F1 outing yet in Barcelona last week, following the arrival of a series of upgrades. George Russell finished P3 (his second podium of the year), while Lewis Hamilton had a spectacular race where he stormed the field to finish P5 after being forced to pit on the first lap with a puncture.
After the race, Mercedes-AMG boss Toto Wolff went as far as to say that his team had the quickest car on Sunday and that winning a title this year is not out of the realm of possibility.
Well, leave it to his counterpart at Ferrari to rain on his parade, so to speak. Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s team principal, said that Mercedes’ form in Spain needs more context and that the German outfit is by no means faster than Ferrari were back in 2021, reports Motorsport.
“I think congrats first to them, because they recovered and improved the speed of their car,” said Binotto in an interview with Sky.
“[In qualifying] they were seven tenths off the pace in the quali lap, which is still a short circuit. [In the race] they finished 30 seconds or more from the Red Bull, and it could have been maybe 40 seconds to Charles [Leclerc].”
“Forty seconds, 66 laps, is still six, seven tenths per lap. Six tenths, seven tenths a lap is still significant. It’s like Ferrari last year.”
While Ferrari may not be too impressed with Mercedes’ new-found form, rivals Red Bull are certainly more weary of a team they’ve been battling for years.
“I think it shows how quickly things can swing,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. “That’s why I wouldn’t write off Mercedes with the amount of points still available. We know Ferrari has a very quick car. So you know, things can turn around very quickly.”
On paper, Horner could be right. Mercedes’ George Russell is just 36 points behind championship leader Charles Leclerc, with the German team trailing Red Bull by 75 points in the Constructors Standings.
Well, leave it to his counterpart at Ferrari to rain on his parade, so to speak. Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s team principal, said that Mercedes’ form in Spain needs more context and that the German outfit is by no means faster than Ferrari were back in 2021, reports Motorsport.
“I think congrats first to them, because they recovered and improved the speed of their car,” said Binotto in an interview with Sky.
“[In qualifying] they were seven tenths off the pace in the quali lap, which is still a short circuit. [In the race] they finished 30 seconds or more from the Red Bull, and it could have been maybe 40 seconds to Charles [Leclerc].”
“Forty seconds, 66 laps, is still six, seven tenths per lap. Six tenths, seven tenths a lap is still significant. It’s like Ferrari last year.”
While Ferrari may not be too impressed with Mercedes’ new-found form, rivals Red Bull are certainly more weary of a team they’ve been battling for years.
“I think it shows how quickly things can swing,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. “That’s why I wouldn’t write off Mercedes with the amount of points still available. We know Ferrari has a very quick car. So you know, things can turn around very quickly.”
On paper, Horner could be right. Mercedes’ George Russell is just 36 points behind championship leader Charles Leclerc, with the German team trailing Red Bull by 75 points in the Constructors Standings.
Google News