Mercedes performance allows ‘breathing space to experiment’

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the team’s advantage over the midfield allows them the chance to experiment with their car, as they look to get themselves back to the front.

George Russell admitted he ran a lonely race in Jeddah, with a big gap in front and behind him for much of the grand prix as he came home P5 in the end on Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton had been running in behind his Mercedes team-mate, clawing his way back up the field after being knocked out in Q1, but unfortunate timing with the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car saw him plummet to the outer reaches of the points come the chequered flag.

But with the performance in Bahrain coupled with Saudi Arabia underlining the performance advantage they seem to hold over the midfield, the team say they now have opportunities to play with their car more to get it right.

Valtteri Bottas admits it is "weird" to see Mercedes struggling.

"It’s also nice to be able to battle with them," said the Alfa Romeo driver.

“I think this was kind of the best-case-scenario for our first season together I could ever imagine, with the information I had.” #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ly6rYMK4gq

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) March 29, 2022

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