Hope for Ferrari and Co? After Ferrari (Sebastian Vettel) set the best time of the day in Barcelona, the previous Dominator Mercedes showed a small weakness for the first time. World champion Lewis Hamilton had to turn off his silver arrow in the afternoon after 14 laps due to an oil leak. The Briton switched off the engine for safety reasons in the second sector of the racetrack.
After that incident, there wasn’t enough time for Mercedes to go back on the track with a new engine. F1-insider.com learned: Even if the worry lines with the silver arrows are limited, reliability problems with the engine are currently the only weakness of Mercedes.
Reason: It is the third engine failure in the five test days so far. In addition to the factory team, Racing Point and Williams, both Mercedes clients, also had to interrupt a test day due to engine problems last week. Mercedes is now reviewing the cause of the damage to correct any weak spots until the start of the season in Melbourne on March 15th.
However, there is bad news when it comes to the legality of the innovative Mercedes Double Axis Steering System (DAS). Ferrari and Red Bull both believe that Parc Fermé rules are being broken with the new system hance they are protesting against the steering system. Naturally, Mercedes sees this differently.
In conversation with F1-insider.com, the technology side of the Silver Arrows is convinced of the legality of their steering wheel that can be moved in all directions: “We developed the system in close consultation with the FIA and made changes again and again when there was even the slightest doubt. Also in regards to Parc Ferme´. ”
