Formula 1: Jacques Villeneuve points at big Mercedes deficit: Mercedes has started the new season on a low after their W13 is lacking pace and having issues related to Porpoising. Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Mercedes cannot hide behind a ‘strong engine’ after having bad weekends. Lewis Hamilton had a day to forget at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after finishing in the tenth position. Follow Formula 1 Updates on InsideSport.IN.
After dominating for eight years at the front of the grid, Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify for Q2 and was eliminated after the Q1 session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Jacques said, “It is clear Mercedes has fallen from its pedestal.”
Formula 1: Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve POINTS at BIG Mercedes deficit that is costing Lewis Hamilton – Check out
“For years they were superior. Bad weekends could be camouflaged by their strong engine, but that is no longer the case. It will be interesting what the response will be from the team. Because Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton are not used to this.”
Lewis’ new teammate George Russell did make it through to the Q2 and Q3 sessions. Whereas, George qualified for P6 while going into the race.
George finished the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in fifth position. But, Lewis started the race from P15 and finished at P10 thereby showcasing a difficult weekend for both Lewis and Mercedes.
However, the Mercedes W13 challenger is half a second behind Ferrari and Red Bull cars. The two-tenths of that is because of the engine. They were lacking serious pace on the straight line. Lewis was not able to contain Kevin Magnussen who drives for Haas.
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K-Mag 🆚 Hamilton
Haas 🆚 Mercedes#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/XyK9skVyQq
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2022
Jacques Villeneuve believes Mercedes has fallen from the top spot where it used to be. Thus, this fall is much harder on Lewis Hamilton as compared to George Russell. Jacques has also ruled out the chances of Mercedes as they won’t be able to fight for this year’s title championship.
Formula 1: Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve POINTS at BIG Mercedes deficit that is costing Lewis Hamilton – Check out
Villeneuve added, “We can say that competing for the prizes is no longer an option for Mercedes. George Russell can still handle the car to some degree. Maybe that’s because of his years at Williams where he also had to drive a difficult car. But Lewis Hamilton is not coping at all.”
“He’s always had a perfect car, he never had to push because they were so much faster. In the race he did alright, but on Saturday he was nowhere to be seen. The car does not seem to suit his driving style at the moment.”
“You can make an engine stronger, but you can’t get extra horsepower that easily. And if the chassis won’t cooperate you have a problem. The championship is a long way off for them. By the time they are competitive again, Leclerc and Verstappen will be much too far away.”
Mercedes are facing problems and they still haven’t found a way to cope with them. Their up-gradation is halted because of the Porpoising issues. They are not able to find the race pace when it comes to race day.
The next round takes place in Australia from 8th to 10th April. Till then, Mercedes have time to sort out their issues and get on top of it. It will be interesting to see what Mercedes’s response to all this is like.
Formula 1: Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve POINTS at BIG Mercedes deficit that is costing Lewis Hamilton – Check out
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