Friday: Laborious day for Mercedes in Bahrain
Mercedes experienced a difficult day of testing in Bahrain despite Nico Rosberg setting the third-fastest time during Free Practice 1. The Silver Arrows are seeking the best possible compromise between speed on a quick lap and tire management.
Nico Rosberg – 3rd and 8th:
« Our testing program was quite good today in the sense that we managed to complete everything according to our plans. However, it’s clear that we are not as strong as in the previous three Fridays. The car had a lot of understeer, and the race will be very tough on the rear tires. The problem is that if you want to preserve the tires, you try to set up the car with more understeer, and it costs us time on fast laps. So, it’s about finding the right compromise. We have work to do tonight to find the right balance for tomorrow and for the race. »
Lewis Hamilton – 13th and 10th:
We worked as hard as we could today but we didn’t manage to find the right balance for the car. I encountered some issues in Free Practice 1 that we were able to resolve for this afternoon, so that’s positive, but we need to identify where we’re losing time and find more performance. We changed the car’s settings, thinking they would suit the track, but we need to consider this and ensure it’s the right direction to take.
The heat here is very hard on the tires, so another positive point is that we did as many laps as possible to study the long stints and prepare for the race. We are not as far behind as it seems today, but there is a lot of hard work ahead of us and it will be a tough battle for us this weekend.
