Mercedes is on another planet
The fears of the eve were confirmed in the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, which saw Mercedes take home the entire front row without much effort. A clear and distinct advantage, which seemed to manifest itself more in terms of engine than chassis. Ferrari had some difficulties in Q2 and Q3 and placed Leclerc in fourth and Hamilton in seventh place – eight and nine tenths away from pole respectively.
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Vasseur’s explanations
In addition to the interview given to Sky, in which he admitted that Mercedes is on “another planet“, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also explained the gap from the Silver Arrows to Canal+ and F1TV.
To his compatriots he underlined: “We knew that Mercedes would have a very significant advantage in terms of engine and so it was, we are not surprised. I don’t know if it’s really eight tenths, because I think we could have done a better job. I think the gap is quite consistent anyway. Tomorrow we will try to focus on ourselves”.
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To F1TV Vasseur explained that not everything went smoothly at Ferrari: “The session was difficult for us and for everyone. A bit less so for Mercedes, who were flying. We struggled to put everything together. I think we are still far from our potential. I’m not talking about compared to Mercedes, but compared to the others. We certainly have room to do better in the next qualifying sessions”.
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