Mercedes made an impression during the opening shakedown in Barcelona. Experts judged the German outfit the strongest, logging the highest lap count across an apparently trouble-free test week. That has the Silberpfeile early favourites for the title. The team itself is playing down expectations, but former driver Juan Pablo Montoya suspects Mercedes has not shown its full hand yet.
On his podcast for AS Colombia, Montoya hinted that Mercedes may have kept a lot in reserve. “If you hear what I hear, I don’t think they’ve shown everything by a long shot,” the seven-time race winner said. “I’ve been told they can be three to four seconds quicker. They’ve executed a reliable programme and put in a lot of laps, but once they really start to push, the picture could look completely different.”
Beyond the works team, customer squads can also profit from the strong start of the Mercedes power unit, which proved reliable in the tests and caused few issues at McLaren and Alpine. Montoya therefore asked aloud how large the effect on the entire grid could be. “Some teams will read the situation correctly and others won’t,” he added. “But if Mercedes turns out to be truly dominant, does that automatically mean all Mercedes-powered teams are in peak shape?”
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