2022 marked the starting of a new era in F1. It wiped the slate clean for the teams in terms of the pace of their machinery. However, it has been rather detrimental to Mercedes, who are no longer fighting at the front of the grid.

The team has struggled since the opening race in Bahrain and looked more in competition with the midfield pack.

Mercedes in the midfield?

The Silver Arrows have become a part of the midfield come 2022. They have been majorly racing the Haas and Alpines in the first 2 races. Mercedes has been seriously off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull this season and both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have struggled.

However, the team believes that they are comfortably the third-fastest team on the grid. Recently, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin said, “We’re under no illusions what that performance gap is, and in Jeddah, it was ultimately a bit bigger than in Bahrain.”

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He went on to add, “We’ve got quite a lot to find both in qualifying and on long run if we want to challenge the Ferrari and the Red Bull cars. However, behind us it looks like we have a bit of margin to that midfield.”

This gap in the midfield will be crucial for Mercedes in the development battle this season as it affords them some breathing room.

Gap to the front

Currently, Ferrari leads the constructor’s standings with 78 points, 40 ahead of Mercedes in second place. Red Bull currently sits 3rd with 37 points. However, they faced major misfortune in the first race that saw them collect no points. The Austrian team is the only challenger to Ferrari and also quicker than Mercedes.

Reports suggest that the next race in Australia might see upgrades from the Brackley outfit in a bid to close the gap to the front. The small cushion they have from the midfield will aid them in the long run while chasing the runaway leaders Ferrari.

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How is Mercedes’s season going to turn out? Let us know in the comments!