"Lewis was struggling" - Mercedes have work to do, says AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly

Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly confirmed Lewis Hamilton’s claims that Mercedes have a lot of improvements to make before they can fight at the front. The Frenchman, who dueled with the Briton during the final day of the test, believes the latter was struggling.

Confirming Mercedes’ struggles during the test in Bahrain, the Alpha Tauri driver said:

“I was quite surprised to be fighting with Lewis [Hamilton] for a couple of laps. It was entertaining, it was interesting also to follow and get some data and feeling from following other cars. I could see Lewis was struggling as well and I can see they do have some work to be fighting right at the top.”

The Frenchman suggested that the Silver Arrows squad might have their work cut out before they can be competitive at the front of the grid again.

Affirming the struggles on the final day of testing, the Mercedes champion concurrently said:

“I think everyone is struggling out on this bumpy track. We come out of it knowing that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Hamilton was adamant earlier in the day, suggesting that the Silver Arrows squad was far behind Ferrari and Red Bull. Although Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz claimed that the team could be bluffing, the Briton refuted the claims and suggested the issues they were facing with their car were difficult to fake. The Briton believes the bumpy circuit and weather conditions exposed their weaknesses, indicating they had to improve.

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Lewis Hamilton places Mercedes third in pecking order

Predicting the pecking order on the final day of the test, Lewis Hamilton placed his team third with McLaren. The McLaren team have, however, faced lesser issues than Mercedes in the three days of the test, with their brake problems expected to be resolved by the first race in Bahrain. The Briton also suggested that the scarlet squad were the strongest and could have a front-row finish if the were Bahrain GP were held immediately.

Sketching a rough pecking order, Hamilton said:

“We’re not the quickest at the moment. I think Ferrari look to be the quickest and perhaps Red Bull and then maybe us or McLaren - but we’re currently not at the top.”

According to Mercedes claims in Barcelona, both Ferrari and McLaren were ahead of them. The final day of the test has, however, shown Red Bull is in a stronger position and the Brackley-based squad might have their work cut out for another two weekends.