Mercedes was hit by a “double whammy” effect at Spa-Francorchamps, according to boss Toto Wolff, losing to a perfect combination of relative engine deficiency and sub-par traction.
Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix and led into the La Source hairpin, but was kept in check by Sebastian Vettel, who catapulted his Ferrari to the front of the field exiting Kemmel.
That move proved to be the decisive moment of the race as Vettel ultimately cruised clear of Hamilton to begin the second half of the season with a dominant victory.
Wolff accepted that Mercedes holds an engine deficit to Ferrari – having previously held the advantage in that department – but added that other factors were at play.
“The deficits, you can see the deficits, it’s the slow speed, and it’s the traction,” said Wolff.
“This is what I would summarise as the main weaknesses of the moment.
“Then we were clearly…compared to Ferraris and Red Bulls and Force Indias, the car that was cooking the tyres the most.
“We can see they have a slight power advantage and then you add that to our weaknesses out of Turn 1 especially and that causes the double-whammy.
“If you’re not very good at traction and you’re being outperformed slightly on power, that lap one happens.”
Ferrari have been tipped to emerge as the strongest package as Formula 1 heads to Monza this weekend, but Wolff stressed that he is not flustered by Mercedes’ prospects.
Mercedes has not been beaten in the hybrid era at Monza, taking 1-2 finishes in 2014, 2016 and 2017, while Ferrari is win-less at its home event since 2010.
“Spa was also a tricky one for us in the past as well, Monza was a good one, so I am very curious to see how it’s going to go in Monza,” said Wolff.
“Last year, we were very much in control of the whole weekend, Ferrari had their worst weekend of the season performance wise in so far, I’m not worried.
“I think we should still address the opportunities that exist within our car, where we need to optimise and only that will make us win the championship.”
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