Why Mercedes has “eyes on” another victory amid Qatar perfect storm

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

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

The shortage of low-speed traction zones, the place Mercedes has struggled, allied to an absence of the kind of sluggish corners the place the drivers have battled understeer and must rotate the automotive with sliding, ought to assist alleviate a number of the key weaknesses with tyre overheating on the W15 automotive.

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

One thing else that might show important 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 sizzling.

Talking earlier than observe motion received underneath means, Russell stated that even earlier than the squad started travelling to the ultimate triple-header of the season, it at all times felt Qatar supplied it the perfect probability of the final three races.

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

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

“There’s the smoothness of the tarmac, the coldness, because it’s no secret once we get the automotive 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 crew must work on for subsequent 12 months.

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

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

Mercedes’ foremost rival in Las Vegas was Ferrari, which was fast till the purpose it hit a tyre graining part 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 might make this fairly a tough 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 tough one.

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

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

“So that you be part of the truth that this observe is clean, chilly, and it’s solely a lot of these corners, then on paper we should always battle.

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

“It might nonetheless be a tricky weekend by way of efficiency however it may very well be weekend by way of factors, so I’m hopeful we will execute weekend and maximise every thing.”