As Motorsport.com reports, Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton has sounded the alarm over Mercedes, questioning whether the team's latest technical package has actually sent them backward. The Brackley outfit rolled out a sweeping set of upgrades at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, completely reworking almost every body surface on the machine in a bid to extract more medium-to-high speed downforce.
Yet the execution on track left plenty to be desired. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell lined up third and seventh in qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit. When the lights went out, Andrea Kimi Antonelli fought through to finish second, while George Russell was forced into retirement due to a power unit issue.
As it is, Toto thinks they may have lost around four or five [tenths],
Appearing on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton highlighted the bleak reality of their race pace. "Obviously, the DNF is something out of his control, but Mercedes never looked like they were in the mix for the fight," Buxton said.
The core of the problem lies in the heavy changes made to the floor and sidepods. The squad traded away straightline speed to add downforce, anticipating a lap-time gain of about three tenths of a second. Instead, team boss Toto Wolff suspects the real damage is far worse. "As it is, Toto thinks they may have lost around four or five [tenths]," Buxton explained.
Now, the big question is whether the upgrade is fundamentally flawed or simply unsuited to the specific circuit in Malaysia. The team plans to run back-to-back tests between the old spec and the new spec, though they face a tight window with only a single practice session available because it is a sprint weekend.
