Mercedes has suggested that it may well posses the second-fastest car on the grid following the Australian Grand Prix.
Since 2022, Mercedes has languished away from the front-running order, with Red Bull producing a superior car to the rest of the field.
Mercedes ended the 2022 campaign third in the Constructors’ Championship, and at the season-opening round in 2023 it looked to be fourth-fastest behind Red Bull, Aston Martin and Ferrari.
But after it claimed its first podium of the year in Melbourne through Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes’ James Allison says it now could be slightly ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari.
“Overall, a sense of quiet satisfaction that we have moved the car forward that, from a performance point of view, we probably got as much as it is able to give right now,” he said.
“That happiness of course is tempered by the disappointment that we only got one car to the flag and that George was not able to show what he was capable of in the car on race day, having performed very strongly up to that point in the weekend.
“We didn’t have huge breakthroughs, but we moved forward a little bit.
“We put a small amount on the leaders Red Bull, and we are starting to get on terms with, and maybe just nose a whisker in front of, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins.”
Questions have been raised over Mercedes’ car concept, which turned heads when it was unveiled last year due to its notable narrow sidepods.
The team has said that there will be visible changes coming to the W14, with Toto Wolff exclaiming at the season-opening event in Bahrain that the core car design would not return the team to a competitive level.
But it has held a more positive outlook regarding its future in recent weeks, especially after its podium in Melbourne.
However, Mercedes’ joy in Australia was slightly dampened by the retirement for George Russell, who stopped on the track with flames emitting from the rear of his car.
The Briton held the lead of the race early on and pitted prior to his rivals, but lost out when a red flag was deployed before his race came to a premature end.
When asked where Russell could’ve recovered to before his retirement, Allison said: “He was obviously a little ill-served by that red flag.
“[He] lost a few slots on the grid instead of benefitting from the safety car stop that we hoped we would give to him.
“But he would have had a strong race. He showed good pace all the way through the weekend, good in qualifying, strong start, good race pace and was set fair for a good result even if he had been ill-served by the fortune of the red flag.”
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