Mercedes ‘don’t look as good as they were in the past’ - Gasly

AlphaTauri driver Gasly and Hamilton engaged in an entertaining scrap for multiple laps during the final morning of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit last week. 

After being able to follow Hamilton’s Mercedes closely and swap positions with the seven-time world champion several times, Gasly noted the W13 does not look as strong compared to Mercedes’ previous challengers. 

“We know on our side we have quite a lot of work to do to improve the performance, to improve the car balance,” said Gasly. 

“But clearly I could see Lewis was struggling as well and I think they do have some work to be fighting at the top. I think the conclusion is that Mercedes probably don’t look as good as they were in the past.

"But it’s only testing, it’s part of the test, and exploring how to get the best out of the car. But yes, in terms of racing it was clearly an interesting few laps, quite fun battles, and I think it should make all the races quite exciting for you guys this season."

Like many drivers, Gasly reported positive feedback regarding the raceability of F1’s new generation of cars, which have been designed with the intention of improving following and enabling closer racing. 

"I was quite surprised to be fighting with Lewis for a couple of laps,” Gasly explained. 

“It was interesting also to follow and just to get some data and feeling following other cars. So I think it’s clearly better than last year, which makes me quite optimistic in terms of racing for the season.

"It was better, clearly. We kind of overtook each other a couple of times, stayed close to each other – and it was definitely an improvement, so I think racing should be quite fun this year.”