With every race, Mercedes seems to be moving closer and closer to the Ferrari but team principal Mattia Binotto is “not too concerned” with the development pace.
In the last couple of races, Mercedes seemed to have the second-fastest car on the grid. This was completely evident in Austin and Mexico City when Lewis Hamilton finished second on both occasions.
Mexican GP was the worst one for the Prancing Horse. The team was hugely off the pace in comparison to Red bull and Mercedes. Even the qualification was a disaster for the team looking that the team has 12 poles this season. However, the best start position was P5 for the team in Mexico.
Mercedes has developed its W13 throughout the season. But has the Silver Arrows overtaken the team which once seemed to be the fastest one on the grid?
Mattia Binotto is not worried by the apparent downfall
Mattia Binotto was asked about the growing concerns about the downfall of the team’s performance but he claimed them to be just because of bad luck and inconsistency:
“Certainly if I look at the last races it has not always been great. But in Singapore I think we have been very competitive,”
suggested Binotto.
“Japan was in the wet, and we were not as fast, but it was not a drama and certainly not in the quali. In the States, Austin, I think that in the quali we were competitive. But not as much as we would have expected in the race.
“[In Mexico] it’s a lot worse, but I don’t think it’s the same trend because Singapore competitive, Japan not too bad, USA good quali.”
Mercedes is now just 40 points off Scuderia Ferrari in the Constructors standings. The team has closed in the gap quickly given the fact that Ferrari had a faster car for the majority of the season. The reliability issues with the Ferrari engine might cost Ferrari the P2 in the championship.
When asked if he was concerned with the development of Mercedes throughout the season, Binotto replied:
“Mercedes is coming back right as they have developed the car more than we did,”
he said.
“We know as well ourselves that we stopped quite early the development of that car to focus on 2023. So I’m not too concerned by the rate of development because I know, as well, when we stopped developing it.”
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