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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff feels Christian Horner's Red Bull team is in a league of their own before the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP.
During the FIA's pre-race press conference with all the team principals, the 50-year-old was asked about the Silver Arrows' chances of contesting for a win in the season opener on March 20. Toto Wolff said:
“Well, as it stands, when we make our assumptions based on the free practice sessions, no. I think Red Bull is in a league of their own, and then there is a bunch of teams that are within a corridor of fuel weight and engine modes – but even there, it’s great to see that teams like Fred’s and Laurent’s are right there in the free practice sessions. And also, this is what I said, the regulations were made in order to bunch the field up and that’s what’s going to happen.”
"We're just slightly behind" – Mercedes technical director on team's development progress after pre-season testing
Mercedes' technical director Mike Elliot believes his team is 'just slightly behind' their competitors ahead of the start of the 2022 F1 season.
In a video on Silver Arrows' social media, the British engineer said:
“I guess you’ve been watching and following the tests. It’s been an exciting few days for us. We’ve brought a big upgrade package. I think when you look at the times, at the moment we’re just slightly behind Red Bull and Ferrari. We’ve got work to do.”
Elliot has been part of the team's aerodynamic unit since 2012 and became the technical director in 2017. The 47-year-old went on to add, saying:
“I think you’ll have seen all the cars bouncing and everybody’s struggling with that and as a way in, what we’ve got to do is work out how we get the best compromise between the bouncing and the performance in the package. We’ve worked really hard over the last few days. We’re working really hard over the next few days, trying to maximize what we can bring to Bahrain.”
Thus far, the Silver Arrows have not been as dominant as they were in the previous era. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has confessed he has no idea where they stand going into the new campaign.
