Mercedes director Paddy Lowe says the team has no plans to back-off in the development race just because they’ve dominated the field in the opening four races.
In fact, Lowe says they’re hoping to outdevelop their rivals in order to move even further ahead at the first European race of the season in Barcelona.
“There has been no sense of complacency or backing off just because our car has shown strong performance in the opening few races,” he said. “The objective is to not only match, but to better the development rate of our rivals and to build on our lead in both championships.”
The race is often seen as a good indication as to how well a team will do throughout the year as it’s the first race in which major development are introduced.
“The break in on-track action presents an opportunity to work on the cars and to bring more new parts to the next event than you would see during back-to-back race weekends,” explained Lowe.
“Aside from being the first European race of the season, Barcelona is classically seen as the first big milestone for upgrades from the teams and we can expect to see quite a range of developments throughout the pit-lane.
“It’s often said that a car which performs well in Barcelona will be a great car for the season, so we’re looking forward to seeing where we stand relative to the competition.”