Lewis Hamilton STUCK with Mercedes design as Ferrari exploit advantage - Pedro De La Rosa
LEWIS HAMILTON’s Mercedes team are stuck with their car design for the 2019 season and that is giving Ferrari the advantage.
Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton's first lap in 2019 Mercedes car
That is the view for former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa, who reckons Mercedes may have fallen foul of complacency this winter.
Ferrari impressed during last week’s test run in Barcelona, while Mercedes put in some unnerving results.
Bar a late lap from Hamilton, the Silver Arrows endured a frustrating week in Catalonia.
The F1 season starts on March 17 in Melbourne, with Sebastian Vettel confident of a race win to kick off his campaign.
Mercedes will have to continue with their design philosophy
And De la Rosa reckons the Italian team should be praised for trying something different in the R&D department, as opposed to the relatively static Mercedes.
“In Formula 1 there is an impression that the new regulations could have affected the German team more than its rivals,” he told El Confidencial.
“If so, maybe your technicians will find themselves in a complicated situation.
“A design change of the front wing means you have to change the whole car. The aerodynamic development is very complex.
“The engineers have several paths, it's like a labyrinth. You go down one path and then, after walking for ten minutes, you realise that you should have taken the other.
“In Formula 1, if you lose five races, you’re out of the championship.
"The change in regulations is a double-edged sword for them (Mercedes).
“There comes a time when the teams that dominate do not risk their design, while there are others that take another path.
“We are facing a change that seemed trivial, but it has been a double-edged sword.
“Be careful. They (Mercedes) can win the championship because it’s about how it ends and not how it starts.
“But right now, Ferrari have interpreted the regulations better.
“And Mercedes will have to continue with their design philosophy and make it work, there is no turning back."
Lewis Hamiton and Valtteri Bottas launch new Petronas Syntium
Indeed, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will line up for Mercedes on the grid in Melbourne 11 days from now.
Hamilton is gunning for his sixth World Drivers’ Championship, while Bottas will be hoping to keep apace with Mercedes’ star man.
As for Vettel, it is assumed Ferrari will pile most focus onto the German driver, with Charles Leclerc very much his deputy.