Mercedes: Sandbagging or struggling in Sochi?
Ferrari looks like it will have the upper hand in qualifying after topping the first two practice sessions, but Sebastian Vettel believes the gap back to Mercedes is “artificial”.
Sochi is expected to be the first real chance to see just how Ferrari and Mercedes compare. According to FP2 timings, Mercedes is more than half a second adrift from the Italian team. But Vettel believes the reigning constructors’ champion was sandbagging.
“It’s a circuit that suits them so they will be strong tomorrow,” Vettel told Autosport.
“Last year, people expected Williams to be fastest after Friday, if I remember right, and it turned out Mercedes was the fastest.
“That’s how sometimes you can be misled and I think there’s a lot of things we can play within the car: fuel loads, engine modes…
“This looks like a Mercedes track. For sure, they didn’t show everything today, and they didn’t get a lap together, so the gap you see is artificial.”
The comments are similar to those made before Australia, when Ferrari and Mercedes both insisted the other were favourites. And, like preseason, Toto Wolff believes Ferrari had the better car.
Wolff claimed Mercedes struggled in the conditions in Sochi. Ferrari’s ability to run in a wide range of conditions gives the Italian team the advantage.
“You could see you needed a couple of laps to put the tyre in the window, and you needed to have clean laps, then it’s easier,” he said.
“And if you haven’t got the clean laps, you won’t be putting it in the right spot.
“The wider the window is, and the easier you put the car into the tyre window, the faster you go. The more narrow it is, the more difficult it is to hit the window, and this s what we are seeing at the moment.
“The Ferrari seems to be a car that is pretty robust in a winder window temperature than ours , and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Bahrain, where it’s very hot, or Sochi, where it’s very cold.
“It’s just a very good car.”
If Mercedes is struggling to manage the tyres in certain conditions, the rest of the season is likely to be as varied as the first three races. But, as Vettel said, this wouldn’t be the first time Mercedes has spent Friday sandbagging.