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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has reiterated that he believes Mercedes will join the championship fight after the team showed promising pace during Friday's practice sessions at the 2022 Spanish GP.
The British team seems to have finally gotten a handle on its porpoising issues, thereby allowing it to unlock the promised potential of the car. Speaking to planetF1, Horner said:
“I’ve said all year it’s only a matter of time before they get their problems under control, and they now seem able to do so. So, they will be another factor in the World Championship fight.”
The Brackley-based team had their best Friday so far this season in Barcelona. Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton showed promising pace that was on par with the frontrunning cars of Ferrari and Red Bull.
Furthermore, for the first time this season, the W13 seems to be working well straight out of the box, unlike both the RB18 and F1-75.
Given the unique characteristics of the Barcelona circuit, which places enormous importance on good car balance and tire management, Horner believes that the Silver Arrows look well placed for solid results based on their Friday pace. He mentioned:
“They have had a strong start and we still have a few things to clarify on our part. But it’s interesting because it changes the whole dynamic in the fight for the title.”
He added:
“On this track, it’s very important to get the car right. You have to get the set-up right and get tyre degradation under control. Especially in the race, the left front tyre is put under a lot of pressure.”
Influence of new power units on Mercedes’ Spanish GP upturn will be clear only after competitive sessions: Horner
Mercedes installed brand new power units on both their cars ahead of the 2022 Spanish GP as they had originally planned. The Red Bull team principal believes that their influence on the car’s overall performance can only be ascertained come qualifying and the race. He said:
“Mercedes turned up the heat in Miami on Saturday, we don’t know whether they did the same here because you don’t know the engine settings of the competition.”
He further said:
“It’s a complex track and the driver’s influence is more limited than on other tracks, but of course they still make a difference. We will only find out in qualifying and of course in the race.”
New power units tend to offer higher performance and given Mercedes' tendency to run higher engine modes in practice this season, many have speculated that their Friday form in Spain might be purely due to the new power units.
Catch Mercedes' performance in today's qualifying session.
