'Ferrari deficit to Mercedes has increased'
- Published on 02 Mar 2016 08:46
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- By: Rob Veenstra
With every passing test day, the feeling in the Barcelona paddock is growing ever stronger that Mercedes will decimate all comers early in 2016. On Tuesday, as the last four days of pre-season running began, Nico Rosberg topped the field after finally running a set of soft tyres -- beating Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who was using Pirelli's much-faster 'ultra soft' compound.
Asked if that was a significant moment, Finn Bottas nodded. "It's quite tricky for anyone to challenge them (Mercedes) at the beginning of the season," he said.
McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso went one step further. "They (Mercedes) would have to do something catastrophic to not win the world championship," he told Spanish radio Cadena Cope. "Vettel should be third, but I would not rule out Williams, Red Bull, Force India and hopefully us," Alonso added.
According to Germany's Bild newspaper, some insiders suspect that Mercedes has pulled ahead of the field thanks to its latest engine, which may have cracked the 1000 horse power barrier. Team chairman Niki Lauda denies it: "At our level, there are no huge horse power jumps like that. Ferrari and Red Bull have more room for improvement than us."
Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko adds: "Over the whole distance it would not be 1000hp, but perhaps on a fast qualifying lap." At the same time, Ferrari is making positive noises about its radical new car, but reliability problems have limited progress so far. "Ferrari's deficit (to Mercedes) is not small," an insider told Auto Motor und Sport. "It has increased."
Indeed, Nico Rosberg admitted that Mercedes did not want to show its hand on Tuesday, "but we also need to get a feeling for ourselves about where we are." And boss Toto Wolff denied Mercedes is sandbagging by not yet touching the fastest Pirelli 'ultra soft'. "It's about the time schedules," he insisted, "and that those tyres don't really fit with this circuit." Rosberg admitted: "I have a very good feeling. Our level is very high at the moment. But Ferrari is close."
When asked about Rosberg's claims about Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen would not be drawn. "I have no idea what Mercedes is doing in their programme and Mercedes has no idea about us," he said. "So all the guessing is totally meaningless," he said.
The Finn played down the huge pressure that is on Ferrari this year, after president Sergio Marchionne said the Maranello team must be targeting victory in Melbourne. "That is everyone's goal at Ferrari," Raikkonen insisted, "not just the boss. In formula one, you always have pressure." (GMM)
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Replies (6)
Login to replymclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
No one knows how much fuel Ferrari had in the car when they used the ultra-soft, doesn't take rocket science to see none of the times mean anything without the other variables being disclosed.
Seems like some are slightly jealous of Ferrari's improvements. All the usual suspects have started fear mongering to try and make it look like Mercedes are unbeatable.
Bottas: sour grapes he didn't get to go to Ferrari.
Alonso: Mega sour grapes, just ask how his new Mclaren is coming along lol
Helmut Marko: A Redbull man through and through, sour grapes because they lost their best man Vettel to Ferrari, adding insult to injury they are nowhere near the front lines like they used to be.
Spreading FUD is the first sure sign that the one being subjected to the FUD is doing something good.
For the sake of F1 someone better start toppling Mercedes it's getting really boring with two girls squabbling over who is fairest of the two when they are blessed with the fastest rocket ship.
ruestchiva
Posts: 20
Totally agree. But I'm pretty sure Mercedes will have wider gap this year. Hopefully somebody closes a bit to them.
khasmir
Posts: 893
A bit harsh, but not untrue ;)
khasmir
Posts: 893
Getting worried that Ferrari tried to push their development a bit too hard, reading the reports of huge engine vibrations...
Also causing problems for Haas and Sauber.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Its a bit concerning, isnt it? But Im sure they'll be able to fix it, this engine is, after all, just a beta, it isnt the real deal. I sure hope they will, it'd be so disappointing if Mercedes has managed to widen the gap.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It might just be issues caused by bad integration of the PU into the car, but if its a real problem I sure hope Ferrari manage to fix it. It'd be disappointing if they failed to live up to the hype they themselves created. Meanwhile, it doesnt look horrible at the McLaren camp, even if I doubt they'll be near 3rd or even 5th this year. But as long as they're better than last year I'll be thrilled.