Why Mercedes has “eyes on” one other victory amid Qatar excellent storm

Mercedes has admitted {that a} host of things in its favour on the Qatar Grand Prix may assist it ship one other Components 1 victory.

Whereas the workforce continues to be struggling to completely perceive simply why it was in a category of its personal in Las Vegas final weekend, as George Russell led Lewis Hamilton residence for a 1-2 end, it feels this weekend’s race at Losail provides it logical causes to really feel bullish.

The dearth of low-speed traction zones, the place Mercedes has struggled, allied to an absence of the kind of gradual corners the place the drivers have battled understeer and have to rotate the automobile with sliding, ought to assist alleviate among the key weaknesses with tyre overheating on the W15 automobile.

Moreover, the absence of bumps on asphalt that was resurfaced forward of final 12 months’s race, plus a closed, easy monitor floor that helps with not abusing tyres a lot, are different parts in its favour.

One thing else that would show crucial is also that temperatures are a lot cooler than final 12 months, with the Mercedes identified to be extra aggressive when it isn’t so scorching.

Talking earlier than monitor motion obtained beneath approach, Russell stated that even earlier than the squad started travelling to the ultimate triple-header of the season, it all the time felt Qatar provided it one of the best likelihood of the final three races.

“Coming into the journey, this was the one we had our eyes on, to be trustworthy,” he defined.

“That was to the purpose that I wished to place an older engine in for Vegas, to have the freshest one attainable for this weekend.

“There may be the smoothness of the tarmac, the coldness, because it’s no secret after we get the automobile in that proper window it flies.”

Russell feels that one of many classes popping out of Las Vegas is that the Mercedes is aggressive solely in a slender working window – which is one thing the workforce must work on for subsequent 12 months.

“After we go to different circuits, when it is actually bumpy, we have got to elevate the automobile up, and obtained to make it actually, actually smooth,” he stated. “That is not how our automobile operates. It isn’t how all of those vehicles function – however we clearly lose much more than our rivals in these situations.

“We simply have to work on making a broader downforce window subsequent 12 months, as a result of clearly it is approach too peaky now. And that is perhaps additionally why we have made so many errors as properly this season, since you simply fall off that cliff.”

Mercedes’ most important rival in Las Vegas was Ferrari, which was fast till the purpose it hit a tyre graining section that finally derailed its race.

However after a season the place the hopes of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have suffered a bit due to high-speed bouncing, the quick nature of the Losail circuit may make this fairly a difficult weekend for them once more.

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

Photograph by: Ferrari

Sainz particularly felt that out of the ultimate three races of the 12 months, this was going to be probably the most troublesome one.

“On paper [this is] the most important problem we’re going to face since we’ve launched these upgrades to the automobile which have made us carry out higher,” he stated.

“When you have a look at Mexico sector two, Austin sector one, Vegas sector one, each time there have been high-speed corners in a sector we haven’t been within the prime 4 vehicles. We’ve by no means been quick.

“So that you be part of the truth that this monitor is easy, chilly, and it’s solely these kinds of corners, then on paper we should always wrestle.

“However on the identical time, one factor is to wrestle on efficiency, one other factor is the quantity of factors you are taking from the weekend. We have to maximise that.

“It may nonetheless be a tricky weekend when it comes to efficiency nevertheless it may very well be an excellent weekend when it comes to factors, so I’m hopeful we will execute an excellent weekend and maximise all the things.”