(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lewis Hamilton left little room for doubt after the Australian Grand Prix. “Yes, I believe so. I really believe we can close the gap,” said the seven-time world champion. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either. An attitude well known in Formula 1.
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The gap to Mercedes is significant, especially over a single lap. Hamilton admitted the team still needs to find out whether the difference lies in the engine, battery performance, or both. “The car is just as fast through the corners. We just have to keep pushing.”
Team principal Frederic Vasseur assessed the situation soberly. Mercedes had been stronger throughout the weekend, but for Ferrari, it was a good starting point. He estimated the gap at around half a second. “I don’t know if it’s a bit more or a bit less, but roughly in that range.” Our analysts have precise data on that.
Where does the deficit come from?
The question of exactly where Mercedes gets its advantage from is harder to answer. Vasseur explained that it’s difficult to say whether it’s exclusively the power unit or also the car. “Sometimes compromises are made on the power unit in favor of the chassis, or vice versa. Overall, however, they are half a second faster than us.”
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Vasseur emphasized that Melbourne was only an initial reference point. “What we saw in Melbourne doesn’t count. The point is how and how much we improve over the course of the season.” The list of areas to work on is long, but the result is decent. That’s at least something.
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A positive outlier was the race pace. Leclerc was surprised by the gap to Mercedes in the race. “After qualifying yesterday, we were definitely not in our optimal window. In qualifying, we are still very, very far from Mercedes. In the race, however, we were a bit more reasonably behind.”
Update challenge ahead
Leclerc didn’t give any false hope: “That doesn’t mean we have the fastest car. I don’t believe that. But this championship will be decided by development and updates anyway, and we have to stay on the ball.”
Vasseur announced a chassis update for the near future. At the same time, work is also being done on the power unit and energy management. “Mercedes will also improve. But we have to focus on ourselves.”
For China, Vasseur expects a slightly different balance of power. The track is completely different from Melbourne, and the long full-throttle section up to turn twelve is gone. “I don’t expect Mercedes to be tenth, but the picture could look a bit different.”
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