According to Toto Wolff, Mercedes has been having suspension problems and bumps during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2024,
and their drivers’ lack of confidence is costing them lap time.
The Austrian team chief went on to say that Lewis Hamilton has been running much slower than his colleague George Russell because
he has been experimenting with different downforce settings to establish a balance that rewards both cornering and straight-line
performance around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
According to Wolff, “the bouncing is a little bit better” on Sky Sports F1. “But clearly, you’re always going to lag if you lack the
confidence or the high speed corners, and this is a specific weakness of ours here in Turns 6, 7, and 8.
We simply lack the speed that we would want to have. Lewis has been experimenting more with downforce to see how it works for
him. I believe it’s critical to ask, “What’s better?” during the debriefing right now.
With such issues in mind, the 53-year-old declared on Friday that Mercedes is simply too far behind Red Bull for them to compete for
pole position, but they could be able to challenge the Aston Martins and McLarens for third place.
In addition, he expressed his doubt that Mercedes will come close to catching Max Verstappen in the race, which is understandable
given that the Dutchman won the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2024 by a margin of 22 seconds.
Wolff went on, “I don’t think we have a race fight.” “Max is a unique individual. For the duration of the show, at least.
“Behind that, things are now rather tight. In my opinion, Sergio Perez leads the pack, followed by the Ferraris, and then possibly us.
However, the gap between the McLaren, Aston Martin, and our team is quite narrow.
Wolff is gushing about Bearman.
Before FP3, Formula 1 received some shocking news: Carlos Sainz would not be able to compete the rest of the weekend due to
appendicitis, the same condition that Alex Albon experienced in 2022. It was then revealed that Sainz would require surgery to treat
the condition.
Oliver Bearman came up to take his place. Bearman is a full-time Formula 2 racer who won the Prema pole ahead of the main event,
but he will now focus on Ferrari, which will take precedence over other things.
He had the opportunity to make a memorable guest appearance for the team. He did well in FP3, enough to take Wolff’s seat as he
searches for a driver of his own for 2025 following Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes.
According to Wolff, “the younger kids that come in, their level of performance is very high.” “It’s becoming extremely competitive,
beginning with junior formulas and go-karting.”
You put a child in a Ferrari right out of Formula 2. despite never having practiced, and he’s competitive. Not that I think
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