Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says there are no problems with the 2023 car on the first day of F1 pre-season testing

0 3 minutes read

#Mercedes #boss #Toto #Wolff #problems #car #day #preseason #testing Welcome to InNewCL, here is the new story we have for you today:

Click Me To View Restricted Videos

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was pleased with the performance of the W14 on the first morning of pre-season testing in Bahrain; Watch the tests live on InNewCL Sports from Thursday to Saturday

Last updated: 02/23/23 02:16 PM

George Russell drove the Mercedes W14 in the opening session of pre-season testing

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team’s 2023 car has “no bouncing” issues and their first impressions of the W14 in pre-season testing are “very different” to its predecessor.

Mercedes saw the end of an eight-year streak of constructors’ titles last year when the 2022 campaign was plagued by unforeseen jump problems with their W13 after the introduction of radically new design regulations.

After winning just one race and finishing third in the standings behind Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes’ hopes of a return to title contention took their first significant steps on Thursday as pre-season testing began in Bahrain.

George Russell was fifth on the timesheets for Mercedes in the opening session, but before Lewis Hamilton drove the car in the second session, Wolff seemed happy with his team’s start.

“George was generally happy with the car,” said Wolff. “It seems balanced right.

Twitter Your consent settings prevent you from viewing these privacy options

“There’s no jumping, which is good news, apart from the big bump at the end of the straight.

“[It’s] a good starting point – we’re collecting a lot of data because it’s important to obviously correlate after last year and try different things – so a productive first morning.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich showed the first red flag of the 2023 F1 season

When asked how the experience compared to the first few runs last year, Wolff added: “We knew we were in trouble because the car was just bouncing around and we really couldn’t drive it properly, so that’s something totally different.

“I think we now have a solid base to work on and try to optimize the car, which we haven’t done yet.

Horner: Reasonable start for Red Bull

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen topped a familiar-looking morning timesheet from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as the Dutchman impressed in a Red Bull car, which was only revealed for the first time just before testing began on Thursday.

There were no major surprises with the RB19, as many of the key design cues of its dominant predecessor were once again visible.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen posts a 1:32.959 to top the timesheets in the first session

“It was a sensible first session for us, I think we focused on learning a little bit about RB19 which is an evolution of RB18,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

“[We got] many kilometers and some good feedback.

“We work on a program, make setup changes and see what they do, so a relatively straightforward first session.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says the team is motivated for a successful 2023 season, despite the lack of wind tunnel time

Despite going into the season as favorites, Red Bull faces a reduced wind tunnel test time, a result of both first place and being punished for exceeding the sport’s cost cap in 2021.

Horner told InNewCL Sports News: “We’re handicapped by lack of wind tunnel time but as a team I think the technical team did a great job over the winter and we just have to be very selective and efficient in the winter way, how we apply our tests.

“Obviously going into the season isn’t an advantage, but it’s a long year. I’m sure our rivals will be very competitive this year.”