Mercedes’s start of the 2021 season was disappointing after a really high standard for the past seven seasons. The German team also faced too many issues during the three days of the Bahrain test.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas mentioned having issues with the stability and handling of the new W12. The seven-time world champion stuck in the Turn 13 gravel because of the poor stability. The Briton finished in the bottoms in most tests, only ranked in the top five on the last overall timesheet.
While his Finnish teammate Bottas also ranked at the bottom of the list. However, he was the fastest driver on the second day of the test session. The 31-year-old Finn had to waste a lot of time in the pit stop on the first day, because of facing some malfunctions with the gearbox.
The @Aramco Pre-Season Test in Bahrain has officially come to an end 🇧🇭@Max33Verstappen was the fastest overall, with a lap time of 1:28.960 🚀#F1 #F1Testing @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/wwcDMCYYoZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 14, 2021
Both the drivers are positive about the results and claim the engineers will improve the cars. The chief strategist James Vowles acknowledged the Red Bull machinery well, as Max Verstappen’s performance was the best throughout Bahrain Test.
Vowels said, “It was pretty evident from that, that the car was handling poorly, and conversely the Red Bull, in fact, was a very stable car, especially through the last sector of the lap,
“But it’s also fair to say that we don’t have answers as we are sat here now, it is just 24 hours after the end of the test. Huge amounts said of data available to us and now a long journey ahead to try and understand what was causing that.”
The Wind was the biggest trouble for Mercedes
The Silver Arrow pilots also faced poor weather throughout the test, and the sandstorms made the tracks skittish for the racers. It was way harder for the German team, as they had some trouble with the rear of the machinery.
The high winds reduced the downward force on the cars, decreasing the stability. The skittish track caused the tyres to overheat, which made it harder for the drivers to control their ride.
The Mercedes trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, will research the data gathered throughout the session and will improve the car for the upcoming races in the 2021 season. Shovlin claimed, “The wind made it tricky,
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton got trapped in the Turn 13 gravel due to the poor handling in the 2021 Bahrain Pre-Season Test.(Photo by Hasan Bratic/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“When the wind is behind the car, you lose a lot of downforces because effectively the airspeed is reduced, so some corners where the wind was behind, it was prone to doing that.”
“Then also the tyres are quite easy to overheat on that circuit and if you start sliding, you tend to lose grip and it gets worse. So, there are a few problems,” further added Shovlin.
We can expect Mercedes to resolve the issues and meet their standards prior to the first race. The 2021 season of Formula One will begin on Sunday, March 28, in the Bahrain circuit.
