“I’m sure that they will be alright”- Sebastian Vettel, confident of Mercedes comeback after their believed failure during the Bahrain tests.
Mercedes was seen struggling during the three-day-long test in Bahrain, which happened two weeks before the season’s first Grand Prix. On the other hand, their fiercest competition, Red Bull, looked solid on the track.
Sebastian Vettel, who has joined Aston Martin and would be running on Mercedes’ power unit, also faced gearbox issues, and his team faced its own predicaments, but he still feels that the Brackley based team will bounce back.
“It’s probably fair to say that Mercedes didn’t have the mileage miracle that they had in the last years,” explained Vettel. “But then again, I’m sure that they will be alright in the first race.”
“And Red Bull are doing what they are supposed to do: challenging. So I think it will be either Mercedes or Red Bull.” Meanwhile, Vettel also discussed his team’s issues on the track last weekend.
“It’s true that the power unit is the Mercedes power unit, and the gearbox is supplied by Mercedes, but still it’s installed into our car, so there’s a lot of components that sort of mix at some stage,” said Vettel.
“I don’t know, to be honest, right now where the source of the problem was, we need to get to the bottom of it. Ultimately it will be more on one side or the other side, but it doesn’t matter. It needs to be fixed and addressed.
“But, as I said, you obviously work together because whatever you acquire from outside, you still need to put it in your car and make it work.”
Sebastian Vettel is not alone.
George Russell, who graduated from the ranks of Mercedes and now is driving for Williams, also feels that Mercedes will not be troubled this year.
“I’ve not really looked at the guys at the top, but I’ve asked them how it’s going,” said Russell. “They are Mercedes. They are going to be fine. I am pretty confident about that.”