Over 1.2 seconds off the pace made it a day to forget for Mercedes at Albert Park on Friday. PHOTO: Mercedes Benz group media

BRENDAN LINES APRIL 9, 2022

MERCEDES’ midfield woes have hit another hurdle with tyre temperature issues making yesterday’s practice sessions at Albert Park a day to forget for the reigning constructors champions.

So far, the underpowered W13 has been unable to live up to expectations, Lewis Hamilton’s P7 in FP2 the team’s best result yesterday — however +1.2 s off the pace of the fastest times set by the Ferrari’s.

Aside from its deficient power unit, tyre temperature has caused another headache for both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Lewis Hamilton said it was a difficult day where the car simply would not improve.

“It’s frustrating because you’re pushing and pushing, and even when you pull off a good lap, you look at the times and we’re over a second down.”

For George Russell, his day improved marginally from P12 in FP1 to P11 in FP2, however tyres and underlying porpoising issues laid bare the car’s limitations.

“The car actually felt alright, we’re porpoising pretty bad into turn nine but I think that’s something we just have to deal with for the time being,” Russell said.

“We believe how we set the car up was the fastest way around the track but maybe it’s not.” 

Russell’s seemingly sense of  dumbfoundedness towards the car’s current setup sparked a frantic search for answers overnight back at the team’s Brackley base, Mercedes engineering director Andrew Shovlin describes.

“We already have some ideas of which direction we can go with the setup,” Shovlin said.

“We’re in a vicious circle where the drivers don’t have the confidence to carry the speed through the faster corners, and it’s that speed that will generate the temperature we desperately need.

“We were clearly more competitive in the first session than in the cooler conditions of the afternoon session, and the data we’re seeing from the car is supporting the fact we’re just not hot enough.”

FP3 of the Australian Grand prix begins at 1pm on Saturday.