The F1 2023 season has produced some enthralling battles over the course of this year’s campaign. While there has been no fight for the titles as Red Bull are already Constructors’ Champions for the sixth time, the battle for second is extremely tight. Just 20 points separate second-placed Mercedes and third-placed Ferrari. While the Silver Arrows currently have the lead over the Prancing Horse, they are well aware that they have been losing ground in recent races to their Italian rivals. Amidst this scenario, top Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin has recently explained that he is hopeful that Mercedes can keep Ferrari at bay.
Even though Ferrari kickstarted the 2023 campaign on the back foot, they have fought back exceptionally well. The pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz has helped the team score 118 points in just the last five races.
In stark contrast, Mercedes have just scored 82 points in this duration. This recent deficit to their rivals for this season has the Silver Arrows worried.
Mercedes engineer hopes his side can beat Ferrari for second
Even though most of the focus over the course of a season is on the Drivers’ Championship, it is the Constructors’ Championship that is the most important for all the teams. The higher a team finishes in the championship, the more money they earn.
As the battle for second in this year’s championship heats up between Mercedes and Ferrari, Andrew Shovlin has given his take on whether he believes the Silver Arrows can beat the Prancing Horse or not. The British engineer began his remarks by stating that it is difficult for him to point out where his side have lacked in comparison to Ferrari in the recent races.
Ferrari closed the gap to 20 points. Where do you see the relative performance of your car and their car at the moment, and how confident are you of holding them off?
Andrew Shovlin: It’s difficult to know, because this has been an unusual track.
Source: @PitDebrief pic.twitter.com/7PDNuOlKL8
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) September 26, 2023
However, he did admit that the only cushion that Mercedes currently have over Ferrari is the 20-point advantage they have in the Constructors’ Championship. As quoted by Junaid, Shovlin said, “I think it’s going to be tight, but I’d rather be 20 points ahead than 20 points behind. But as I said, fundamentally, it will be how much performance can we bring“.
Shovlin then concluded his remarks by stating that he now hopes that Mercedes can find some more pace to ensure that they do enough over the six remaining races to finish second in the championship.
Shovlin not concerned by McLaren’s resurgence
In the same interview, Andrew Shovlin also gave his take on McLaren’s outstanding resurgence. The 49-year-old admitted that at this point of the season, McLaren just have a “better car“. However, Shovlin made no mention of the Woking-based outfit being a threat to his side.
Why are McLaren quick?
Andrew Shovlin: Well, I think the update they did in Singapore didn’t look massive there, but that’s all low-speed corners, here [Japan] it’s all high-speed, and that’s…..
SOURCE: @PitDebrief | @JOC__1991 pic.twitter.com/Q5mPQbqNk3
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) September 26, 2023
Shovlin named only Ferrari as a threat to Mercedes, presumably because the Silver Arrows have a whopping 123-point lead over fifth-placed McLaren. As for McLaren, their resurgence has indeed been phenomenal as they are now consistently fighting for podiums as compared to the start of the season when they were just fighting to get into the points.
