The F1 race in Bahrain was certainly fast and exciting. Interestingly, however, the 2021 cars weren’t as fast as their counterparts from last year. This could be due to the aerodynamic changes that forced the teams to make changes to the bottom of their cars. Nevertheless, the tempo deficit was quite significant, especially with the seven-time champion Mercedes.
According to a report by F1 Insider, fans can see how much pace each team has lost this season. The figures were compiled after qualifying and compared with qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix last season.
Mercedes F1 and Aston Martin had the biggest deficits in speed
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly to some, the Silver Arrows and their customer team, Aston Martin, have been found to have lost the most pace. Mercedes won 2.121 seconds in qualifying that year, while the Silverstone-based team won 2.279 seconds.
Formula 1 F1. Bahrain Grand Prix. Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in action during the REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed race
This massive loss of speed is not due to the Mercedes engine. The reason is that McLaren, another Mercedes-powered team, only won 1.385 seconds.
This sharp speed difference for Mercedes and Aston Martin is more due to the low design of the cars. Both teams were very expressive of this fact. Both emphasized how much they were affected by changes in the ground and how that change did not affect high-raking cars like Red Bull. Although Sebastian Vettel disagreed.
Another team that lost its pace dramatically was Haas. The American team won 2.338 seconds on the time sheets in qualifying.
Ferrari and Red Bull are among the biggest winners
Although Ferrari and Red Bull also lost pace, it wasn’t as obvious. The Maranello-based team gained just 0.541 seconds on the timesheet. This is proof of how much they improved over the winter.
Formula 1 F1. Bahrain Grand Prix. Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Red Bulls Max Verstappen in action during the REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed race
Red Bull also only gained 1.319 seconds on the timesheet. This could prove the position of Mercedes and Aston Martin on car design.
Other big winners include Alfa Romeo and Red Bull’s sister team, AlphaTauri. The former only won 1.217 seconds while the latter only won 1.361 seconds.
Although the pace has slowed down, the level of entertainment seems to have increased a few notches. Fans will hope they get a lot more entertainment throughout the season.
Also read:Red Bull F1 advisor claims Max Verstappen is faster than Lewis Hamilton over a lap
The post Mercedes lost more than two seconds in 2021: That’s how much Ferrari, Red Bull and others have lost compared to 2020 first appeared on monter-une-startup.
