Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes could be in for another tough weekend after Fernando Alonso predicted that the teams that struggled at the Japanese Grand Prix last time out will suffer again here in Qatar.
The two tracks share a lot of similarities with Qatar made up almost exclusively of medium-speed and high-speed corners. This aligns with the design of Suzuka, which suits cars that can carry plenty of speed through the faster parts of the circuit.
This will be bad news for both Mercedes and Aston Martin with those two teams stacking up as only the fourth and fifth fastest when the Grand Prix got underway at Suzuka two weeks ago.
Speaking ahead of the second-ever Qatar Grand Prix, Alonso said: “It seems a bit optimistic to be thinking about the podium, but let’s see. It will be a stressful weekend for everyone, no one will arrive at qualifying 100% as there just isn’t time.
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“It is interesting, but looking back to Suzuka, it could be a weekend we are not at that kind of performance. I think the new generation of cars have been good in the high-speed corners, and new is all high speed so I think it will feel good. The Sprint weekend will add spice!”
If Alonso is correct in his prediction then this spells bad news for Hamilton, who was left extremely frustrated in Suzuka after extracting the maximum from the Mercedes package, only to be left with a P5 finish.
The Silver Arrows have slipped relative to rivals Ferrari recently with Carlos Sainz’s victory in Singapore combined with a stronger Japanese GP weekend moving the Scuderia within 20 points of Hamilton and Russell’s combined tally.
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Speaking about the state of Mercedes after the trip to Suzuka, Hamilton told Sky Sports: “[I am] fighting with absolutely everything I have to get as high up as possible and get ahead of Ferrari, which had an upgrade this week so they were particularly quick.
“They have been quicker the last three races. It was a hell of a fight. I scored the most points for the team, I’m really trying to hold on [to second] for the constructors’ title because I really know how important it is for everyone back at the factories.
“So giving it absolutely everything, but it’s tough on weekends like this particularly where the car is such a handful. Basically the exact same as last year, so feeling-wise the car felt just the same as last year, bouncing and sliding.”
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