Mercedes has reacted to the "wake-up call" of Malaysia. Toto Wolff was stunned at Sepang when his formerly-dominant silver cars were beaten to the chequer by a resurgent Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel. The Mercedes chief immediately announced a re-think on both the technical and strategy side.
Technically, Brackley has responded by fast-forwarding the introduction of a new front wing ahead of this weekend's Chinese grand prix, the German newspaper Bild reveals. The report reads: "Apparently the part was ready for Malaysia, but after the dominance of Melbourne it was not used. Now the wing is in the luggage" for Shanghai, added Bild.
Wolff also said after Malaysia that Mercedes erred on the strategy side by focusing too much on driver equality rather than the threat posed by an external rival like Ferrari. Dr Helmut Marko, an official for the formerly-dominant Red Bull team, said he knows the problem well. "When you are dominant for a long time," he told Sport Bild, "you forget about the other teams when it comes to strategy. Mercedes must learn again how to do that," Marko added.
But does that mean team orders will be imposed now? If so, will Mercedes' 'number 1' driver be the reigning champion and current championship leader Lewis Hamilton, ahead of Nico Rosberg? Wolff insists: "With us, both drivers get the same opportunities to be world champion. We simply must be able to respond better in the future to what happens on the track." (GMM)
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