Confused Mercedes 'slower than Red Bull' - F1 testing's big lessons

F1 testing was shorter than ever in 2021, giving the teams just three days to get themselves ready for the new season. Things look good for Red Bull, but is Mercedes really on the back foot? Scott Mitchell looks at the fortunes of the two teams at the front of the grid, and picks out the other things we've learned from F1 pre-season in Bahrain
READ MORE HERE
the-race.com/f...
Subscribe: the-race.com/yo...
Website: the-race.com/
Twitter: / wearetherace
Instagram: / wearetherace
Facebook: / wearetherace
Podcasts: the-race.com/po...
Thanks for watching - please like, share and comment, please also hit subscribe to show your support so we'll keep doing what we're doing.
#F1 #F1Testing #F12021
www.the-race.com
/ wearetherace

[@WaelAli-sd8sw]

Reading the comments, its good to see that every one understands what will happen in Bahrain in two weeks.

[@fintonmainz7845]

Most people haven't grasped the effect of the new aero regulations.

[@xynostasos9022]

another Mercedes 1-2

[@Real28]

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me for 8 straight years...LOL Good luck

[@Alligator68k]

Ferrari will win.

[@ayyveezee2079]

2 weeks later : Mercedes "we figured it out"

[@Mike23443]

It turns out that Mercedes has gone overboard with sandbagging this year, packing so many of them in the car during testing that the leaks coated the entire track in sand. Perhaps it's a new strategy meant to upset other teams data gathering due to the dirty track.

[@1992jamo]

You say that, but I doubt Lewis intended to spin the car twice... And into gravel.

[@properyayeet]

@@1992jamo the gravel wasn’t there before he spun

[@hellothere-us7iw]

Last season they didn't sandbag. The result F1 resident karen red bull horner cried wanting DAS banned right away.

[@martinktee]

@@1992jamo yyooltukbnihh op lol

[@nikfaeizniknazri649]

@@properyayeet tell em boi

[@thelarry383]

Mercedes has run out of words to use so now it's just "confused" lmao

[@frankellis9627]

Really? Don't ever underestimate Mercedes! You would be a fool to do that! Well see after Qualifying in Bahrain! 😎

[@braydenmcneal6709]

No it’s “sandbagging”

[@Bugsygb1]

Agree

[@braydenmcneal6709]

@Nathaniel Miller hopefully not I hope that someone beats merc this year

[@Tokyo-Drift]

Extremely damaging for F1 as a sport for a single team to win for such a long period of time, when there's no competition people say what's the point to watch you know who going to win anyway.

[@Rahul-kz5fi]

28th march, bahrain: " get in there lewis; fantastic race mate" " Thank you for the hard work guys it was a tough race"

[@lugyisonyoutube8252]

"tough race" also lewis: gets a 40 sec lead from bottas and ver gets fastest lap while his tyres being "ded" *yeah definetly a tough race lewis*

[@CrashBandiii]

*tough race* Hamilton leads from start to finish with no issues

[@lugyisonyoutube8252]

@@CrashBandiii unless its malaysia 2016 which i always want it to be lmao

[@fernandoueno8668]

@@lugyisonyoutube8252 I also want to see that, but Hamilton's car hasn't broken down since Austria 2018, then during testing they always say: "We've got reliability issues, we might not be able to fix them"

[@schumifan78]

Lewis pits for mediums on lap 3, radios as soon as he leaves the pits: "These tyres are ****ed, they're absolutely done" At the end of the race after setting a new fastest lap every lap of the race "Get in there Lewis, well done managing a set of mediums for almost the entire race distance, great effort setting quickest lap of the race on the final lap"

[@Zzzlol94]

Mercedes: Oh no, we're so slow, Red Bull is really going to be a competitor this year, definitely Baharin GP: Mercs 1 second faster than everyone else

[@mordor1779]

I love the beginning of the seasons when Hamilton always says " we need to work hard, redbull are getting fast and close to us " and then two weeks later at the first Grand Prix he already has 40 seconds on Verstappen after 10 laps

[@dewaadisandjaja]

LMAO so true..

[@srikumarg3590]

Has Mercedes ever looked this bad and bounced back before??

[@louiscypher4186]

@@srikumarg3590 2019, they made a large amount of changes in the W10 throughout testing and were never on.

[@srikumarg3590]

@@louiscypher4186 mercedes 1-2 again then

[@backseatgamer1808]

the williams colour in the standings made me think russell was in a mercedes again lol

[@Blue_Pumpkin]

Not the only one

[@commandermemebois4715]

Yes

[@MKRCinema]

I also thought Mick was in Alpha Tauri for a sec cuz I'm still used to White for Tauri, not Haas

[@XpcrewX]

So a Mercedes 1-2 then?

[@mrbungle3310]

Get in there Lewis,or no Bottas will win the first race and after that Lewis all of the rest,Except one when idk the stewards will smoke a joint and let Latifi win

[@TayTheDay]

@@mrbungle3310 🤣 you should be a pundit

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Could be RBR 1-2.. or McLaren, if Mercedes aren't sandbagging.

[@ariqhaidar7261]

@@mrbungle3310 stewards are so high that they will type latifi as latoefi

[@ytwos1]

Yes, but without the dash in between. On Pos 12.

[@finbarallan]

It's nice to see The Race refer to Mick Schumacher as "Formula 2 Champion" and not "son of Michael"

[@AR-cz8lk]

So? What are you trying to say actually?

[@BwsBoss8879]

@@AR-cz8lk that he earned his way into f1

[@broccoliface4501]

0:34 - man, Lawrence has made sure that his son even gets a bigger logo

[@djpanncake]

Lmao

[@muhammadfaizildesouza7988]

🤣🤣

[@user-tz3zn2kz8w]

LOL, good catch!

[@Spotter-]

Lmao

[@sabu1297]

HAHAHA i was checking the comments to see if anyone else noticed. good spot.

[@junsengjs]

Between the gearbox shenanigans and what appears to be an unstable rear end, things do look a little shaky on the Mercs. We'll have to see.

[@badz1497]

it was just the sandbags gotten lose in the car due to the massive power in that PU. Lewis forgot that he wasn't supposed to push too much on that C5 tires. now the whole world is suspicious that their PU is so powerful, the sandbags are barely containing it

[@frankielight2696]

Two weeks later：“Get in there Lewis”

[@MexicanBagpiper96]

Press "X" to doubt. X

[@mcmcnair97]

There were engine gremlins towards the end of last year too. I get everyone thinks we've been here before but I'm coming round to what you say... red bull themselves sound quietly confident for once

[@junsengjs]

@@mcmcnair97 Indeed. Especially since they ran a lot of laps for both Max and Perez, which proves that their engine/gearbox should be fairly reliable(to avoid early season DNFs like last year which arguably cost Max the 2nd place in drivers standings).

[@Holoflux]

How often until people realize testing is literally just that, testing It means absolutely nothing

[@FattyLumpOfPoo]

man its the only time when we can get excited before mecedes dominates

[@Kub5008]

The timings mean little to nothing because we don't know the variables, but how we see the car act means quite a bit cause you don't see a merc spin as much as it has now.

[@miosink]

Yes my man, but the fact that the Mercs were very twitchy and oversteery is quite an exciting prospect for the upcoming season. I've never ever seen so many countersteering and instability from the Mercs, especially if they weren't even pushing hard. In previous years they were on rails since day zero...

[@theglitch312]

Testing times mean nothing. Since 2014, Merc were only fastest in 2015 and 2020. But the amount of laps counts. It's the best predictor for WCC WDC since 2014. Merc has always done the most laps of any teams in testing since 2014 and 5/7 times they won the first race. The other two times were won by the team doing the 2nd most laps (Ferrari). 7/7 times they went on to claim the WDC and WCC. This year, they completed the least amount of laps. Moreover, they had reliability issues, and stability issues... In 2019 they had similar problems in week 1 of testing. They fixed them in week 2 with a new spec car. As far as I know, they don't have a new spec car ready atm. And even if they do, they have to wait until race 1. Less than ideal. Couple that with 3/4 Merc teams also clearly had very low lap numbers, and RBR + AT having great tests, and it's starting to look like Merc may have some work to do before race 1.

[@MartinGonzalez-ki8kn]

That's rubbish.

[@GTChucker86]

Remember 2019 where everyone was assuming “Ferrari is fastest this year ” during testing. 😒

[@davidmendrei6228]

They was but Vettel and the team fucked up the season

[@redbullsauberpetronas]

@@davidmendrei6228 what did Vettel do? He doesn't make the car

[@davidmendrei6228]

@@redbullsauberpetronas Germany when he missed the corner

[@davidmendrei6228]

@@redbullsauberpetronas the car was perfect the strategy as always was shit

[@Wizzkidwas]

@@davidmendrei6228 Buddy that was 2018, not 2019

[@JoshRacer90]

How not surprised will everyone be when Mercedes dominate the Bahrain GP 😅

[@thebarcaboardroom406]

Or maybe not for once

[@technicallyf1394]

I hope not be Merc is op these days

[@lmnop20sharks]

Not this one. This is redbull's time

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

@@lmnop20sharks It's testing. Are you really that much of a sucker for punishment. XD

[@ryanwhitlock7350]

@@lmnop20sharks lol. See you in a month.

[@SuburbanFox]

I am looking into my crystal ball, and I see... I see... I see a name... Louie... no, Louis... no, Lewis! Yes, the one called Lewis. And he's being given a command... someone is telling him to "get in there".

[@valenesco45]

That made me genuinely laugh lol

[@vHiddenAce]

44 likes

[@santiagoremedi7385]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

[@Peniili]

Actually laughed out loud.

[@altonbreunissen1243]

Top class!!! I shall knight u for that comment...Sir suburban fox

[@colevano]

So how much time did Mercedes spend developing their sandbagging technology?

[@joshpota8581]

Lmao

[@rnichol22]

That's what created the sandstorm

[@deedas]

😂🤣😂 this had me cracking up

[@adamsmith2758]

2 tokens

[@therealboofighter]

A damn long time.

[@Aldas001]

Can't believe Scott did Roy Nissany dirty like that... Brilliant.

[@willappleton3274]

Cue mercedes 1-2 in bahrain 😭

[@darthvader2635]

I'll come back to this comment

[@tmyfatmufo]

@@darthvader2635 i will to but to make sure he was right unfortunately

[@erickpalacios8904]

1 - 3 😉

[@PB-sk9jn]

@@darthvader2635 I find your lack of faith disturbing.

[@haydendelaney7026]

You're definitely gunna eat your words

[@JMsurYT]

The quality and depth of this content posted hours after the end of the testing is just astonishing. Kudos to The Race!

[@quist6154]

I really want it but ya know... they’re Mercedes

[@niceguy2832]

another thing is, even if the car is still not as dominant we are still talking about a 7th time world champion, it's going to be one hell of a season.

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Either way, I'd RBR wants a championship, this is their chance.

[@roastingminer6919]

@@niceguy2832 frfr, even if merc are second best, if they get that rear sorted then ham will be a problem, also, 2007 and 8 mclaren also had loose rear end

[@rnichol22]

@@niceguy2832 7 time champion because he's had the best car by far,

[@GhostonYoutube201x]

@@rnichol22 generally multi time world champions have the best car on the grid Michael and vettel did.

[@Jay-nk6dm]

I feel as though this merc problem is genuine, however i also think they must already have an update for the rear that they will bring by round 3 to stablize the rear and propel them back past redbull

[@chrisploos4410]

Damn you already spoiled this year 😂

[@Blue_Pumpkin]

No more tokens available to develop

[@andya3171]

Low rake is the wrong approach for 2021 with rear aero change and new tyres. Merc & Aston Martin both appear compromised by their low-rake approach, which must be pretty much locked in with the rear suspension both are using - poorr grip/low confidence in middle to high speed turns. Merc power in McLaren shows what's possible with the same PU, but the aero approaches (especially at the rear) are the major diff.

[@vasjalesjak3846]

@@andya3171 exactly!

[@chrisploos4410]

@@andya3171 Lets see in q3 Bahrein i am only confident of a Red Bull title fight if Mercedes still looks like they are struggeling and wayyy off Red Bull in quali and the race

[@CobraAce04]

I’ll believe it when we see a Max-Sergio-Daniel podium 3 races in a row

[@carlosmorteo5177]

Literally that's the dream podium to me 😍

[@ChorneliusMoza]

nope

[@bacon6200]

1- Raikkonen 2- Schumacher 3- vettel Thats my dream podium (completely impossible)

[@ghost_kinggamer]

@@bacon6200 Mick with Haas?Poor kid...maybe next year

[@dewey7085]

Merc garage first race: aight boys you know the drill, off with the sandbags

[@nbl1ve804]

Mercedes were sandbagging so bad, that they actually caused a sand storm

[@tomjohnson5597]

It wasn’t a storm, it was leaking out of the cars!

[@tomorrowcomestoday1621]

Sandstorm song from darude came to my mind after reading this

[@Blue_Pumpkin]

@@tomorrowcomestoday1621 Du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du

[@J.R.__]

They brought the sand...🤫

[@davidvasquez08]

@@Blue_Pumpkin *guitar solo*

[@kefren1322]

"And Hamilton wins!" Merc is a drama queen again.

[@dr.science_0177]

I mean they have to be serious to be a champion

[@emiel1976ep]

That is why Hamilton fits so well with Mercedes. Also a drama queen. 😂😂

[@HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva]

So is Lewie Lewie, but that's not new.

[@waitwhat3222]

First race so it’ll be Bottas next 9 races will be Lewis tho :(

[@emiel1976ep]

@@waitwhat3222 or Bottas will be the new champion. 😁

[@kruqtion9615]

We’re all living in fairy tale land In the real world, there exists no competition, only Mercedes 1-2

[@CanucksHub]

"Lights out and away we go! Lewis Hamilton gets away..."

[@moizzkhan8546]

"Hamilton wins after leading every lap of the race"

[@DGaller85]

3 seconds ahead by the first corner!

[@antonioakiki3716]

”Well and he is clear through the first corner and is pulling away”

[@pam6585]

They'll turn the engine up race one F1 has become the WWE of racing all fake just an act.

[@hehnirichard6007]

“Lights our and away we go! Lewis Hamilton wins yet again...”

[@Sahwgunn]

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Sandbags 35,99€

[@mrbungle3310]

In Day 1 there was a storm they sandbaggs failed

[@Sahwgunn]

@@mrbungle3310 well that one bag wasn't premium unfortunately and made a whole sandstorm :(

[@TheOz91]

ngl I'd buy one if that's available as a merch

[@J5L5M6]

@@TheOz91 I'm on the waitlist

[@badz1497]

little that we know, they actually spent their development token on those sandbags! that's the only reason why they are so effective.

[@MiniMii550]

Anyone else notice on the timing board Stroll's Aston Martin logo is bigger than vettel's? I think they need to fix that

[@AlienofAndromeda]

Cue Hawkeye Meme “Don’t give me hope...”

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

cue Shawshank quote: "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" Ferrari's dominance came to an end after 5 long years in 2005, Mercs dominance has to end to at some point.

[@Bianchiboy]

Its all smoke and mirrors and pre-season games. Until the cars are actually out on track competing it’s ‘impossible’ to know who has what.

[@lllFeanorlll]

Aaaaand come the race it'll be Mercedes 1-2 by about 30 seconds

[@xynostasos9022]

And possibly even more.

[@joe2d]

The fact that Sir Lewis Hamilton didn't even shift to 8th gear on his "quali simulation" lap shows how much Mercedes are hiding their true pace.

[@donkeymarco]

Mercedes slowed gear changes to prevent damage to the gearbox aqfter they and Aston Martin (Mercedes sourced) had problems with gearbox.

[@TheTony024]

The Content coming from this channel is the best, loving the coverage and can’t wait for the season to begin

[@accidentian]

0:36 It's almost funny that Stroll's AM logo is larger than Vettel's.

[@MKRCinema]

😂

[@SkankHunt007]

That Merc rear seems really destabilized with the new floor. I don’t believe this is sandbagging this time lol

[@christopheroconnor4665]

Especially since the new floor regs hurt low rake cars like merc the hardest. Let's hope

[@nicolasescobar4176]

Yep, people think its sandbagging but we never seen the merc this much unstable

[@10parth10]

Give it a few race weeks and I can see them be top again.

[@nicolasescobar4176]

@@10parth10 yes they most probably will be in top, but may the gap be smaller than last year, i m hopping for that after seeing the results in testing

[@deabreu.tattoo]

funny how lewis spun in the last corner, after having the whole circuit to make sure everything is fine

[@davidpesha3841]

and he rounds the final corner,hamilton takes chequered flag to win the 2021 season opener in bahrain,valtteri bottas comes home second to complete a mercedes 1-2

[@Stockholmsstolthet1891]

Higher rake cars benefits from the new rules, so therefore Mercedes needed to alter their rear suspension geometry and use higher rake. W12 handling characteristics reminds a lot of last years Red Bull

[@huzefajawadwala1347]

The best thing to happen to the F1 community lately is the formation of The Race. Love the graphics on the videos and the podcasts as well. Unbiased and honest assesments of all situations w/o sugar coating or over optimisitc predictions. Love the work ! Keep it up guys :)

[@romaosabandar8039]

I guess Netflix wanted some early material for D2S Season 4

[@oriolgonzalez9328]

Aaaaaargh, WHY CAN'T THIS SEASON START ALREADY?!

[@kawasakitheking4130]

Next week lol

[@Luke22SV]

Bottas to top FP1 and FP2 and Hamilton to get pole

[@ethandrake5380]

Bottas topping all qualy sessions except q3

[@deedas]

Pretty much every qualy session last year

[@martindunstan8043]

Sceptical and optimistic in one comment 😂😂👍👍

[@LBNMKRS]

And 30 sec win 🥲

[@seonhoward38]

Pole and the race win

[@mattforthelikes]

This channel is fire. IMO beating F1TV at it's own game (for the news & additional content).

[@HunterCihal]

I think the spending cap might have actually damaged Mercedes a bit. They're so used to spending close to 400 million a year, and now it's less than 150.

[@CatchMeNever]

Well Red Bull were sort of in the same boat as well with the cost cap. I’m just curious to see if people’s predictions about the new rules for this year actually hurt the cars with a more flat rake like Mercedes vs high rake cars like Red Bull.

[@michaelx4810]

And what about Red Bull, Ferrari (who spent more than Merc) Mclaren who all spent well above the current cap in prior seasons?

[@averagesundaydriver8122]

@@michaelx4810 Yeah, if any (competitive) teams look like they’d actually benefit from this, it would be one- Aston, because their budget had to grow to meet the cap, so they’ll do nicely with a new factory.

[@utkarshchaurasia2233]

Yeah but red bull didn't have to make radical changes to their car

[@michaelx4810]

@@averagesundaydriver8122 agreed. And of course the budget figures thrown about exclude engine development, so the net impact to Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine is not as much as people think. Plus anyone who works in finance and is worth their salt will find loopholes around it. Not to mention economies of scale of just being part of a large(ish) manufacturing group. The new rules make things closer but it’s hardly a level plying field.

[@InitialP_Photography]

I've not been this excited about an f1 season since I was 12 and that was 28 years ago, this season is going to be good hopefully, last year was great, in the midfield especially, hopefully we'll get a good set of races this year.

[@snipasean7069]

Merc at Bahrain : “thankfully the 2 weeks came as a surprise and we were able to fix all the issues”

[@TheFlanker27]

We all know that the only reason for the FIA to move pre season testing to Bahrain is so that Mercedes could have enough sand for their pre season car setup. That's how pros do their sandbagging!

[@jordantucker8320]

Also for those wondering RBR and Most Other Teams Used 8th Gear Including Merc during day 3. 95% of the time Hamilton and Perhaps Bottas only got up to 7th Gear. Other teams Did use 8th Gear for testing through the 3 days. Hamilton and VB if im not mistaken use 8th gear as of today As Commented by Will B and JP and Co. Wasn't it i think 2018 or 19 where the Merc was a "Diva" to drive?? Almost Un-drivable... 10 Months later WDC and WCC 🥺🥺🤷🏽‍♂️. Testing is Testing. 😂😂😉

[@RealWestCider]

It's okay, by FP1 Mercedes would've brought in so many upgrades that it'll be a repeat of 2019 basically.

[@clutchyfinger]

The SebAston partnership has more red flags than a tifosi grandstand.

[@xynostasos9022]

Stroll will look magnificent this season.

[@practicalpen1990]

I laughed out loud. Best joke ever. Thanks, I needed that laugh.

[@any1younger]

I suspect that Mercedes were in fact testing for NEXT season when big rule changes come in, so they can plan for that. They know the car from last season is still easily better than anything else, so they’ll just dial everything back now and be 1&2 on the grid in the first GP...........

[@Zartak00]

When you read through the comments and realize you are the only one who believes in RB this year 😅

[@piterkool]

We have Just never seen a merc lose a championship for years.

[@rubberonasphalt]

I'm at least hoping Max gives Lewis a good fight for the championship. With Ric not far behind

[@arion5556]

Even if Mercedes have problems right now, they are going to work like dogs for the next two weeks to make sure they are on top in Bahrain

[@fablewalls]

That's what all the Red Bull fans in other popular comments predicting a 1-2 for Mercedes don't understand - Mercedes team and drivers have a high workrate. Everyone seems to have forgotten that it was not until the 4th race in 2018 that a Mercedes took top spot. I think they are behind and had bad testing but they may take 2-3 Grand Prix to recover and understand what changes they need to make.

[@blessenthomas9601]

@@fablewalls what you are saying is not applicable this year...Only aero changes are permitted...Rest all chassis,body and engine is freezed

[@lukababilodze4283]

@@fablewalls yeah, but as far as I remember in 2019 people were talking about how merc would have the record for most consecutive 1-2 finishes with 8 1-2 finishes in the first 8 races, so I don't believe that mercs will ever be nearly as bad as some people are saying.

[@zakh6016]

@@lukababilodze4283 Eh, fans seem to forget we're on the outside. Any issues and their severity is only ever speculated. All we know is Mercedes are an absolute machine and have the track record to prove it. If we see a lack of pace in two weeks, only then can we better judge their issues. Until then, the uninformed judgements we all make will gain varying levels of validation, depending on what fits the agenda.

[@lukababilodze4283]

@@zakh6016 I will only believe that mercedes messed up if they don't show a strong performance in quali in bahrain (just like you said, in two weeks). Even free practice times don't matter.

[@princesekyere9679]

It will be interesting to see how it plays out when they go racing. But I think Mercedes are gonna figure it out.

[@pam6585]

I'm surprised anyone still calls it racing. In BTCC and Moto GP you see the front runners fight for the finish line. When one person flys ahead then it has something to do with the vehicle and they put a stop to it.

[@tamas1946]

Only 10 days to wait now... It's been a while since I've been this excited about a new season, even if we all know who's going to win it.

[@Present4]

This is one of the most talented fields ever. Looking forward to a good fight.

[@michaelwijaya5562]

If you take a look at the barcelona testing 2020, merc fastest lap is 15.7, and barcelona q3 is 15.5, while redbull stayed the same as 16.2, this means merc does low fuel test as well in their testing schedule, and considering this and overall consensus that merc is sandbagging further point to the direction that this will be the year

[@locker60]

Merc decided after the gearbox problem not to show us anything we will have to wait for the race to see if it was sandbagging

[@categoriaxbox2396]

I came from the future and in Bahrein, and it's Mercedes 1-2 with 30 second gap to the 3rd place, and Alonso Wins the Spanish GP, and Mick Schumacher Managed to get a podium on Emilia Romagna GP in wet contitions, and Peréz finished second and Hamilton 3rd

[@taroyqar4172]

if you watch some of the on board camera Mercedes doesnt even hit the 8th gear on any of the straight line....... let just say mercs have issue on the rear end of the car ? yes. but did they sandbaging ? also Yes

[@jaggyfpv3865]

I wish nobody mentioned the Alpine's bulbous airbox, so I could just admire the livery. Now I can't help but stare at the airbox. lol.

[@ERT_Andretti]

Did anyone notice that Tsunoda opens his DRS 50 meters earlier than everybody else on the main strait?

[@GTE_Channel]

I did notice one car where it seemed drs was open before the white line. Maybe in testing there are no rules for the use of DRS?

[@eden5260]

2021 is the year of optimism, I am prepared to see some new drivers and teams on the podium. and maybe that 7 number Is the one that will stay with lewis alongside Schumacher for the rest of history

[@beoriginal6992]

Don’t do that, don’t give me hope😢

[@noahrankel7167]

DAS: dual axis sandbagging

[@ImGekkoh]

Fun fact: Mercedes have only been fastest in testing twice since 2012, don’t let these times fool you, they’re sandbagging alright

[@Deathdealer4L]

Me and my bro were saying the same thing. I was trying to remember what year they were terrible during testing and That red team looked like gods

[@LuisTrey]

@@Deathdealer4L It was 2019.

[@tylermelendez-duke2206]

Remember the last time Mercedes said their competitor was faster? That was in 2019 pre season testing, we all know what happened in the 2019 F1 season

[@davidmendrei6228]

Yea this year is the Mercedes version of Ferrari 2020

[@Willie_Pete_Was_Here]

I can't remember. You mean 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020?

[@nath1606]

@@davidmendrei6228 I’d argue Ferrari 2005, but that works as well

[@davidmendrei6228]

@@nath1606 in 2005 the rules fucked them over

[@nath1606]

@@davidmendrei6228 I believe the 2021 rules have fucked Mercedes over, honestly. The new diffuser & floor regulations benefit high rake cars the most, such as the RB16B. Also, Ferrari still made a bad car that year & the F2004 they used for a couple of races that year, didn't suit the rule changes other than the tire regulations

[@minimead368]

I remember when ever journalist said Ferrari was favourite after testing once 🤨

[@george1449]

Ferrari will be lucky enough to have both drivers in top 10

[@Stepside]

Sometimes I forget to notice how clean The Race's editing is. Love this shit.

[@gouthamanguna7007]

Bring some rules for testing also. Rule1 : no melodramas and overacting.

[@PJV1990]

You can always find the F1 newbies during winter testing because they're the ones who take it seriously/literally. Those of us who've been following the sport for years/decades are the crafty, wry veterans who've seen it all before and know not to trust testing AT ALL haha. We've all had our winter testing hopes and dreams slaughtered by the reality of the first qualy session. We've wised up from the pain of experience, or, at least I certainly have since following f1 from 1995 :D

[@brilliantbeaches5389]

Red Bull looks good, really good! They will challenge Mercedes thix year, for sure! I have hope! And Mercedes will crush my hopes as always

[@danielfsmoreira89]

The fact that the first race is in the same venue as the pre-season test will the best comparison between what the teams do in testing and what they'll bring to the table when the lights go out...

[@jayjayson9613]

I dont have a favorite team or anything, I just want competitive races again.

[@funkmachine6420]

Same, I basically support 9 teams now lol

[@apophisstr6719]

Interesting how the Red Bull managed to fixed the stability issue of the rear despite this year's rule was supposed to nerf the aero effectiveness of the entire rear-end.

[@rai2u]

I mean when you watch the onboards particularly hamilton’s the car looks genuinely twitchy and unstable that he had a hard time keeping it on the track (day 3 no sandstorm)

[@ale69420]

I like the fact that theres no much to talk about Ferrari, I think its better for them this way, Also I've seen reports that the engine this years sounds like the 2019 engine, so maybe this is a good sing.

[@Choopremo]

Testing somehow shows who's the best in prank wars

[@MikeeCZ]

Do you remember any pre season testing where Mercs where not a lot slower than in the season after? They simply do not test their hot lapping a lot, they test long runs and reliability, consistency.

[@gregharrison5479]

Max: We look competitive this year. Lewis: Hold my helmet.

[@AbhishekSingh-zs8vt]

Reminding that you once made this comment ✌️

[@Luisml8]

i actually think Mercedes will have a Thought year all of the other teams have done huge improvements, Vettel in Aston Martin, Alonso in Alpine, Lercler at Ferrari, Max and Sergio in RBD, those team are the best in terms of how well they have improved in terms of performance and chances made to the car... i dont see Mercedes and Hamilton walking away with a 8th tittle this year.

[@anatoliylotarev5977]

One thing is looking slow and another is spinning your car 5 times per testing session

[@JohnKuhles1966]

Yuki Tsunoda & Sergio Pérezmay together be strategical crucial to help Verstappen against Mercedes!

[@chazzgaming3943]

Still hoping for that McLaren second place and a lando race win

[@alanherrera5421]

Mercs can't push now, otherwise they will ruin the surprise of owning another consecutive year the leaderboard...

[@TheChazas]

It is not possible, Mercedes shifted focus to 2021 car quite early in last season. They are really sandbagging so no one copies their floor/car.

[@davidmendrei6228]

They used the new floor and they was shit anyway

[@fabiangrob6740]

Thank you to the guys back at the factory who worked SO HARD to understand the car in only two weeks time. We could never imagine a 30s victory. Damn These RedBull guys are so fast, we got work to do boys. ABsoLUtE MIrACle TO bRIng THE car TO tHe FinISH-LInE. MIIIIRAAAAACLE.

[@abhiverma9316]

As somebody above said Fool me once , shame on you Fool me twice , shame on me Fool me for 8 straight years , LMAO No

[@ssongire5303]

It's simply interesting to see how people judge complete Aston just from seb.... Lance completed all what he had in program... Nobody will talk bout it... Cause... People just seek negativity

[@bean3243]

Mercedes "Oh no, we are so slow. How will we ever recover from all these spins and off track action?" 1st race: And across the line, Mercedes with the 1,2!

[@maniac123ful]

It might just be a bluff. I'm having high hopes for all the teams this year. Gonna be a very close season...

[@AbdhullahKadar]

Wow this must really change everything! this will leave Mercedes behind red bull in another 1-2~!

[@Thijs_NL]

On a Dutch interview, Verstappen said the car felt 'predictable'. Never heard him say something like that before. Can't wait for the season start!!

[@amrithabiju]

Mercedes was sandbagging so much that they were able to create a sand storm

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

Original😴😴😴

[@mgrant011]

I hope the testing times will play out this year. Different teams up front would be nice.

[@rjd4763]

You realize that Mercedes always ALWAYS do this every pre testing sessions

[@coolio33388]

Valterri was 2 tenths off the all time track record for Catalunya last year in testing I still think they'll dominate, but to say they sandbag EVERY year is just false

[@ahmad-gr3hg]

Drama

[@GobiLux]

We haven't seen these kinds of issues yet! You can see they were pushing but just could not get the times in. Plus drivers were struggling with stability. How many times did Hamilton spin?

[@mcmcnair97]

The last time merc had a consistent challenger (ferrari), we heard about the 'diva-ish' car they had built. Merc cars seemingly have gearbox, and towards the end of last year, engine gremlins. I dont think anyone doubts they'll be strong across the season, and LH is still favourite, but there is definitely something different going on this year. RBR being quietly confident from day 1 hasn't happened in years...

[@Slimmeyy]

0:31 three French flags in a row, nice ;)

[@swedsweg3197]

hahahahahahaha ya bastard

[@Rahul-kz5fi]

😂😂☠️☠️

[@ChrisMisMYhandle]

It was good to see lewis being humbled when he bonked 3 laps in a row yesterday. I really hope red bull can fight them this year bit there's no doubt in my mind that Mercedes will be on top of any issues they MIGHT have had during testing.

[@teeffw2776]

If you think Hamilton can ever be humbled than I have a bridge to sell you.

[@rorynell4962]

Alpha tauri not fast??? Yuki was second on the time sheets only to Verstappen? Also theres no way merc r sandbagging this hard just to build hype for a competitive season...

[@ytwos1]

They missed a lot more. It is just making content. I prefer more attention to what actually happened and better analysis.

[@1992jamo]

I think that the fact Alpha Tauri was second, and very close to verstappen, suggests that teams were keeping some in the tank. You'll probably find that Alpha Tauri were testing richer engine modes for Red Bull for instance.

[@martindunstan8043]

I think you're spot on! Aren't we supposed to be treated as fools? 😂👍

[@rorynell4962]

@@1992jamo potentially but y would you go through the whole of testing and not try and find out what ur quali pace is like? Plus verstappens pace is fairly close to last years poll considering the roughly 10% cut in downforce

[@AntiVaganza]

@6:07 "[The Alfa] was only starting to show signs on any limit on turn-in once Kimi was pushing it properly to the limit". I guess a tribute Murray'ism.