Ferrari pounce on Mercedes mistakes
TIMES AP diminishing returns,’’ he says. ‘‘If you have a fantastic package like Mercedes have had throughout this hybrid era, if it’s closing in on being perfect, then there’s nowhere to go, so that’s why I think the others are catching them up.’’
Ferrari’s performance in closing the gap this season is also down to the relative stability of the regulations this season from last. Brundle believes that there have been no significant changes to either team over the winter, just tinkering and tweaking, bringing the teams closer together.
So while Ferrari undoubtedly have a fast car, the feeling is that they won the first races through Mercedes’ mismanagement rather than sheer pace.
‘‘We have so many races nowadays, it’s a long, long way,’’ Vettel says. ‘‘At this point it’s nonsense to even be thinking about where you might be [at the end of the year].’’
Hamilton acknowledges that Mercedes have been caught on the back foot, but has welcomed it as a wake-up call for the team.
‘‘I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we have wake-up calls within the group,’’ the 33-year-old says. ‘‘I still believe we are the best team.’’