Hamilton dice left Gasly questioning Mercedes

After battling with Lewis Hamilton during the Bahrain test, Pierre Gasly believes Mercedes are no longer as strong as they were.

Both drivers put on a show during the third and final day of pre-season testing as Hamilton and Gasly spent several laps going wheel-to-wheel, both drivers pulling multiple overtakes on the other.

Mercedes have won eight Constructors’ titles in succession, but with Formula 1 entering an all-new regulatory era the Silver Arrows did not look to be at that same record high standard in Bahrain.

Whether these struggles are genuine or an example of hiding performance has been hotly debated heading into the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, but it cannot be ignored Gasly held his own in that scrap with Hamilton despite driving an AlphaTauri car which has traditionally been a midfield runner.

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So rather than AlphaTauri suddenly making gains, Gasly concludes Mercedes have in fact slipped back.

“I was kind of surprised to battle with Lewis,” he told reporters after day three of the Bahrain test.

“I think the conclusion is Mercedes probably doesn’t look as good as they were in the past.”

More positive signs on the following front, Lewis Hamilton has been comfortably tailing the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly for several laps now.#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/t2STzN4c44

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 12, 2022

A key aim of these new regulations is to reduce the loss of performance a following car suffers behind a rival, thus