James Allison it's safe: Mercedes has something more than Ferrari, at least in the race pace. These are the indications gathered by the Mercedes technical director following the three days of testing carried out in Bahrain last week. The start of the season is now upon us, right with the first Grand Prix of the year which will take place on the Sakhir track, a stage in which we will have the first indications to really understand whether what we saw in the tests will be confirmed or not. “When I think about this new car – explains Allison speaking about – I notice that responds roughly the same as the data we collected in the simulator and this undoubtedly gives us great confidence. Really an encouraging sign".
“We are coming off three days of testing which were very positive. The program we carried out was very important. We analyzed the test data to understand which aspects interest us most and what we need to improve on, even if there aren't many days available before the race. The team is already at work on the production of the new pieces. There is a lot to produce and assemble".
Allison has no doubts: "Red Bull is the favourite, but Mercedes is faster than Ferrari in the long run"
Although the indications of the new W15 seem to be positive, with Hamilton e Russell who spoke of a good base (unlike the last two cars) on which to develop, Allison knows which car will be the one to beat: “Red Bull remains the car to beat. This is stated by the data seen in the tests and, above all, by what was done on the third day of testing”. Mercedes, however, is a candidate as main rival to try to ruin the party for the Austrian team: “Behind there are also other teams like us and Ferrari. I think we are ahead of them on pace, while on a single lap it could be different. Also watch out for Alonso. However, there is little time left to find out: a lot will depend on the work that will be done this week before the race weekend".
SOURCE: Motorsport.com Italy
