"They are very strong on a single lap" - Mercedes not expecting to match Red Bull and Ferrari's 'pace' at 2022 F1 French GP, says team engineer

Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin revealed that while they are closer to the front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari, they lack the pace to beat them. The British trackside engineering chief felt that the top two teams were extremely quick in terms of their qualifying pace.

Describing Mercedes’ expectations in a team debrief press release on Friday, Shovlin said:

“We’ve got a pretty good idea of where we want to go on setup. For one reason and another, we didn’t get as much work done on high fuel as we’d have liked so we don’t really know how we compare to Red Bull and Ferrari but we do at least look closer to them than to the midfield.”

Although the French circuit suits Mercedes better on paper, Shovlin believes that the top two teams are much stronger in their qualifying pace. However, the Briton felt they were definitely breaking away from midfield and were confident with the set-up of their car. The Silver Arrows outfit was unable to carry out race simulations with heavier fuel loads in the practice sessions on Friday, but it is confident of its race pace for Sunday.

As for the qualifying pace of the front-runners, Shovlin said:

“We’re not expecting to be on their pace tomorrow, both those teams looks like they are very strong on a single lap, especially Ferrari but hopefully we can get a bit closer in the race on Sunday.’’

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George Russell believes Mercedes won’t have tire warming issues at the French GP

George Russell believes that Mercedes will not have any tire warming issues in qualifying due to the heat, and that tire degradation in warmer temperatures could benefit them in the race. The Briton also felt Red Bull was beating the German team in straight-line speed whereas Ferrari had an edge over it in the corners.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport on Friday, the Briton said:

“We certainly won’t have any warm-up problems in qualifying. And the hotter it is, the more tire wear should play into our hands in the race. Red Bull is gaining time against us on the straights, Ferrari on the corners.”

Russell revealed to Sportskeeda on Thursday that the French circuit layout might suit Mercedes the most on the calendar. He also felt that the heat could play a big part in determining the outcome of the race on Sunday.