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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Ferrari currently has the strongest power unit but reminds that it is too early to judge engine performance. The Silver Arrows' team leader suggested that pre-season testing could be deceptive and it remains to be seen how much progress the scarlet team has made on the engine side.
Speaking to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Wolff said:
“We feel that Ferrari have the strongest power unit at the moment. You have to see it in perspective, only one of the tests has been completed. Ferrari should not be praised too quickly. Winter tests can be deceptive.”
Ferrari looked strong and reliable in Barcelona's first pre-season test. The Austrian executive director of the Silver Arrows team, however, was reluctant to make any predictions and was cautious to judge the Prancing Horse's engine gains.
Overall, Ferrari racked up a total of 437 laps as a team, with Carlos Sainz being the busiest driver of the three-day test. According to earlier reports, the Ferrari engine was able to recover the power loss from the new E10 fuel, while Mercedes seemed to struggle with it. The Maranello-based squad is being deemed a strong contender after the progress made in the first test.
Mercedes are intrigued by Red Bull’s sidepod design
Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott revealed the team was fascinated by Red Bull’s sidepod design from the RB18. The Red Bull F1 team’s 2022 challenger featured dramatically radical sidepods with unique undercuts on the side, intriguing every team on the grid.
Speaking in a video on F1's official YouTube channel, Elliott said:
“The most visually different I think are the sidepods that Red Bull Racing have come up with. Looks interesting, so we’ll go and have a think about that.”
The Silver Arrows outfit had balance issues on the first two days of their test and their car design was fairly underwhelming compared to McLaren, Ferrari, or Red Bull. After taking a look across the field at Barcelona, however, one can expect the squad from Brackley to bring a significantly different W13 to the Bahrain test.
