Mercedes up to 1.5s per lap slower than Red Bull in F1 race trim

Mercedes endured a torrid 2022 campaign with a car that was crippled by porpoising, but it was confident of unearthing much more potential from an evolution of the same concept.

Yet despite eradicating the dreaded bouncing, Mercedes discovered in Bahrain’s season opener that it had not made the progress it had hoped.

The Brackley outfit ended up as the fourth-fastest team in the race behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin as Hamilton and team-mate George Russell…