After George Russell broke down on the track on the second day of official preseason testing in Bahrain, the Mercedes F1 team had a "disastrous" finish.
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During the second day of Bahrain’s 2023 preseason testing, Mercedes ran into some problems. Up until the final testing session of the second day, when George Russell’s W14 came to a stop on the track owing to hydraulic failure, the British team appeared to be relatively dependable. As marshals emerged to remove the stalled car from the course, the session was red-flagged. Toto Wolff, the team manager for Mercedes, reportedly said that the data showed a significant loss of downforce on the front axle of both of their vehicles. A vital sensor in the automobile failed, leaving the team in the dark, which caused another issue. The mechanics who worked during the day were, regrettably, unable to fix the problem. In order to find a solution, the Silver Arrows will rely on their night crew.
Read More- Mercedes news: Team launches late nigh investigation into unexpected performance loss
After George Russell broke down on the track on the second day of official pre-season testing in Bahrain, the Mercedes F1 team had a “disastrous” finish. Late in the evening, the British driver’s W14 experienced a hydraulics problem, forcing him to stop. The stoppage cost Mercedes important time fixing the vehicle and prevented them from gathering more information about their vehicle.
The team was confident that overnight adjustments had solved the handling issue, but Hamilton said that “underlying” problems from the sluggish W13 had been transferred to the new vehicle. The seven-time winner said in a statement on Saturday that it was “tough to sum [development on the new car] up. We’ve had a few challenging days, but yesterday was extremely trying. It wasn’t too horrible on the first day. It was a little more difficult yesterday. “Things are going up, so maybe we’ve nailed the set-up in the middle of the track,” said George after having a far better morning than Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Hamilton continued when asked to draw comparisons between the W14 and its troublesome predecessor: “Right now, for example, the bouncing that we experienced has very well gone. It’s a significant step for us. Driving it without it bouncing around turns is nice. Nonetheless, there are still some fundamental issues that we are addressing. “With this brief testing period, it will be difficult for everyone. “We want to be confident that we can quickly understand the car, the tires, and our capacity to react. We are working through some issues. “Some of the balancing restrictions from last year are still in place. After a challenging year the previous year, I’m so proud of the entire crew for maintaining their optimistic attitude.
“Tremendous work was put in during the winter to get here with the mileage we did. They show up here every year with the same mental focus and resolve to resolve whatever problem we have. I enjoy working away in the offices, sorting through the data. Hopefully, we’ll make it there.”
The W14’s hydraulics issue dismayed F1 fans on social media as well; many even predicted the W14’s demise before the season’s opening race.
