Mercedes will quickly recover from its below-average start to the 2021 F1 season, Alpines managing director Marcin Budkowski predicted.
The world champion qualified almost four tenths of a second slower than Red Bull in the inaugural race in Bahrain. An off-season change in technical regulations, forcing teams to change their designs for the rear floor, was accused.
With an unusually long three-week break between the opening races, followed by another two-week break until the third lap, Budkowski expects Mercedes to make quick wins with its W12.
“You clearly have Red Bull in front and Mercedes not far [away], “he said.” I think they are lagging behind at the moment but I would be curious to see where they are in two or three races because I think they are a big, very well structured and very competent team and they clearly have some problems they will have to sort out. “
However, Mercedes have indicated that it may not be able to fill the gap with Red Bull this year. Trackside performance engineer Andrew Shovlin said new development restrictions in 2021 would hamper their efforts to progress. Teams also need to weigh their current development programs against the need to produce entirely new cars for the next year.
Budkowski believes Alpine is part of a large midfield behind Red Bull and Mercedes that includes all of the remaining teams except Williams and Haas.
Analysis: The F1 field is closed as Mercedes loses two seconds in four months“They have McLaren that are strong, AlphaTauri were strong, Ferrari were strong, a little bit stronger than we expected [to be]. And then there we are, there is Aston Martin.
“I think this group with McLaren, with Ferrari, with AlphaTauri, with us and Aston Martin – and I think Alfa Romeo wasn’t far away either – this group is very, very close. It’s almost like the fifth or sixth through sixteenth is getting tight. Switching to switching and conditions to conditions will be variable.
“So our goal is to be ahead and not behind. Right now we’re somewhere in the middle and we’re a few tenths short of moving forward.
“The next race could be different and it will be interesting to see because people are going to develop their cars a little bit, but not for as long this season because the 22 regulations are coming. So it’s going to be interesting. The midfield will be very, very competitive all season. “
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F1 season 2021
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