Mercedes drivers admit struggling with tyre problems
- Published on 20 Apr 2017 08:41
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- By: Rob Veenstra
Mercedes' two drivers have admitted the team is struggling with tyre problems in 2017. After three races, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel is leading the world championship, leaving triple back-to-back champions Mercedes to ponder the reasons. "We have a bit to do at this test," said Lewis Hamilton, after staying around in Bahrain for the post-race test that began on Tuesday.
"We need to improve the car and our knowledge about the tyres so that we are in a better position in the next race," he is quoted by the DPA news agency. The next race in Russia should at least be cooler, with Mercedes more comfortable in China than in hotter conditions like Melbourne and Bahrain.
"The softer compound has been more of a struggle with the tyres and also the hotter it is, more of a struggle," Valtteri Bottas admitted. "So it's definitely something for us to understand." (GMM)
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Replies (5)
Login to replyWolfgang
Posts: 313
let´s be honest: Merc faced this problem over the last years but they didn´t really care. Remember Singapore 2015 with Vettel humiliating the Mercs.
Since Ferrari has a real competitive car now Merc is in a trouble they maybe could´ve avoided by understanding the tires in recent years better.
mclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
Yes, nothing wrong with tyres just that their drivers are not that good even with a top car because Ferrari have caught up and there is a certain driver named Vettel in that car. If Vettel was in the merc instead they all might as well throw in a towel while handing that WDC trophy to Seb.
Infact merc trying hard to shrug off Vettel is exposing their mediocrity so excuses are in order to explain away these "issues"
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
That'll be tough for them to adjust.
Samouri
Posts: 25
It mayn't be as hard as you believe, because at the recent testing at Bahrain. Bottas put in 79 more laps than Vettel, and was 0.294 faster than Vettel on his best run.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
May i remind you who is the Technical boss for Merc now? Yes, the same man whose cars ( including the recent Ferrari) are known for their Tyre preservation.