Mercedes aren’t expecting a repeat of the Malaysian Grand Prix where they lost out to Ferrari in a shock victory for the Italian outfit.
Technical boss Paddy Lowe says the team has analysed what went wrong and they’ve put it down to tyre performance and the high track temperature which meant they used their tyres harder than Ferrari.
In an effort to combat this, the Anglo-German outfit plans to push through a number of developments earlier than originally planned, as reported by Grand Prix Times last week.
“Exceptionally high track temperatures – even by Malaysian standards – contributed to this [high tyre wear],” explained Lowe.
“However it is essential to have a car which performs at all circuits and in all conditions, so there is work to be done on that front.”
The Briton doesn’t expect Ferrari to be as strong as it was in Malaysia because of the nature of the Shanghai International Circuit, though he admits they might have a season long battle on their hands.
“China presents a different challenge,” he added. “Temperatures can vary dramatically year-on-year, but are generally quite low.
“It’s also a front-limited circuit – the opposite of Sepang – with a good mix of corners and a long straight, so it will be interesting to see how the different cars perform at yet another circuit characteristic for this new season.
“It is now clearer than ever that there is serious competition for this world championship, so we will continue to work flat out for performance gains.”
