Niki Lauda’s claims that Mercedes will be challenged regularly this season by Williams and Ferrari, who he claims have both made giant leaps forward over the winter, isn’t the case according to former driver and team owner Gerhard Berger.
Having following pre-season testing, the fellow Austrian is certain of Mercedes dominance once again this season, believing they are clearly ahead of the chasing pack.
“They are quite clearly the favourite,” Berger told Osterreich newspaper, adding that he reckons they’re around one second per lap quicker. “And that is an awful lot in Formula 1 today.”
The former Ferrari and McLaren driver does however agree that Ferrari has made a step forward and will join the Williams-Red Bull fight for second best, claiming all three are “almost equal” on pace.
Meanwhile F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who has already predicted Mercedes and Nico Rosberg championship victory this season, doesn’t believe another year of dominance from the Anglo-German team will do the sport any harm.
“In Formula 1 we have always had these phases when one team dominated,” he told the DPA news agency.
“Of course it would be great if we had Ferrari and one or two others fighting with them, but if the two Mercedes are fighting each other, that’s fine as well.”
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