Mercedes started the new season in Formula 1 with great ambitions. But a sobering result followed.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has drawn a merciless balance after the sobering Formula 1 start of his racing team in Bahrain. “There aren’t any positive things, not a single piece of positive news here, and overall there’s quite a lot to fix. If you look at the ranking now, Red Bull is on another planet. Aston Martin is incredibly strong, they’re actually the second fastest on the track. We have an epidemic,” said Wolff after the first Grand Prix of the year.
Lewis Hamilton, fifth, was almost 51 seconds behind the first winner, Max Verstappen, in the Red Bull. George Russell, in the second Mercedes, was seventh, almost 56 seconds behind the two-time world champion.
“Of course you have to try everything now, turn the car completely upside down, analyze mercilessly and then try, hopefully, to make big steps forward. It was what we saw coming and it was important to have this dramatic wake-up call.” , said Wolff.
In the middle of an era
Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko was surprised at the defeated Mercedes team. “We thought they would come here with a car that would be competitive. We’ll be surprised at what the plan B looks like. Whatever you try to the extreme or redesign now gets lost in the budget for other things,” commented the Austrian, who celebrated a double success for his team. Behind Verstappen, Sergio Perez finished in the second Red Bull.
Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg sees Red Bull in the middle of an era. “It reminds me a bit of 2014 with the Mercedes dominance. Red Bull was in a league of its own, it will be difficult for the competition,” said the 2016 world champion and current Sky expert.
Hamilton’s teammate Russell even believes Red Bull can march through to the next world title. “Red Bull have this championship under control,” commented the Englishman. “I don’t think anyone will fight with them this year. They should win every single race this year, I’m betting on that.”