After George Russell and Lewis Hamilton challenged Max Verstappen for pole at the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz accused Mercedes of exaggerating the ‘lack of speed’.
planetf1.com
Russell and Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the W14 after Mercedes failed to compete with Red Bull in the first two races of the season, while team boss Toto Wolff confirmed that plans to drastically change its design philosophy are underway.
However, the British duo unexpectedly entered pole contention at a cold and windy Albert Park on Saturday, only to lose out to Verstappen.
autosport.com.ru
Alonso, who finished on the podium behind Red Bull doubles in the first two races of the season, finished fourth with Aston Martin, while fellow Spaniard Sainz finished fifth with Ferrari.
Asked by Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brookes if he was surprised by Mercedes’ pace, Alonso said: “Not really. I think they were already very fast in Jeddah and they were fast in P2. They’re always quick. If you read the comments, it looks like they have a car that’s (coming) out of Q3, but it’s not that car.”
Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz – thesportsrush.com
Sainz, who was being interviewed alongside his compatriot, added: “I agree. They’re much faster than people think, I think, especially in the race. In Jeddah, in the race they had a pace very close to Fernando. Lewis and George, they were exhausted and we couldn’t keep up with them.”
“So this car is fast. It’s clearly not as fast as the Red Bull, none of them are, but if they put the qualifying together, they could be really strong contenders as well.”
While Alonso doesn’t seem impressed with Mercedes’ performance in the season opener, the 41-year-old has urged his rivals to make life difficult for Verstappen, who leads the drivers’ standings as he seeks a third consecutive world championship.
bleacherreport.com
The Dutchman, who is seeking his first win at the Australian Grand Prix, is the only Red Bull at the front of the grid after teammate Sergio Perez’s mistake in Q1 pushed him to the back of the grid.
Saturday’s dramatic qualifying session continued a chaotic weekend in Melbourne, with red flags and bad weather preventing the teams from carrying out their usual race simulations in practice. As a result, Alonso believes Sunday’s race will be even more mysterious.
“I think there are a lot of unknowns in the race after missing FP2. And also the temperature, I think it’s going to be very different tomorrow – it should be sunny,” he said.
