A series of improvements made to last weekend’s race in Barcelona helped Mercedes make its most competitive start of the season so far.
George Russell finished third to secure his second podium of the year, while Lewis Hamilton bounced back from a puncture on the first lap leaving him almost on his back to return home fifth.
The pace of the W13 led Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff to declare that the team had the fastest race car on Sunday, and that his belief that he can win the title this year has been renewed.
But Ferrari team manager Mattia Binotto says Mercedes’ competitive form must be put into context, and that the German carmaker is still no faster than the Maranello set in 2021.
Speaking to Sky, Binotto said: “I think I congratulate them first, because they recovered and improved the speed of their car.
“[In qualifying] they were seven tenths of a second behind the qualifying lap, which is still a short circuit. [In the race] they finished 30 seconds or more behind Red Bull, and could have been maybe 40 seconds behind Charles [Leclerc].
“Forty seconds, 66 laps, it’s still six, seven tenths of a lap. Six tenths, seven tenths per lap is still significant. It’s like Ferrari last year. “
Mattia Binotto, director of the Ferrari team
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
But while Binotto doesn’t get too carried away with where Mercedes is, Red Bull takes into account the potential of the Brackley team.
After seeing how quickly he was able to return to the top of the league standings after some problems at the start of the season, Red Bull team leader Christian Horner believes Mercedes has a chance to make it. something similar.
Reflecting on the change between Red Bull and Ferrari, Horner said: “I think it shows how quickly things can change.
“I think after Australia we came home 40 points behind and we are six points ahead of Monaco a couple of races later. So it just shows in Formula 1 how quickly things can change and change.
“That’s why I would not cancel Mercedes with the number of points still available. We know that Ferrari has a very fast car. So, bottom line is that we’re really looking forward to it. ”
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