Mercedes "shocked, blown away" by gap to Ferrari
Mercedes' advantage over Ferrari in Australian Grand Prix qualifying was a "real shock" to Lewis Hamilton, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas admitted he was "blown away" by their performance.
Hamilton edged Bottas by just over a tenth to steal pole at the end of a frantic first shootout of the season in Melbourne, with testing benchmark Sebastian Vettel trailing Hamilton by 0.7s.
Ferrari had widely been considered to hold an advantage heading to Australia, and Hamilton insisted after qualifying that Mercedes "truly believed" it was behind, while Bottas claimed nobody in the team "could have imagined we would be in this position".
Asked by Motorsport.com if he agreed with his teammate's admission he was "a little bit blown away" by Mercedes' performance, Hamilton said: "Absolutely. There was absolutely no [indicator of this result after testing].
"I felt good that we had a decent package to work with but we were aware that we might be slightly behind.
"That is what we honestly thought when they showed us the summary of how testing went: we were behind Ferrari from the analysis we did.
"We haven't changed the car, we've understood the car more.
"Yesterday Ferrari were with us, they looked like they were a little bit heavy on fuel initially and then they dropped the fuel and were quite on par on performance.
"We thought we were closer than we thought it would be after testing, and all of a sudden they lost a bit of performance in [FP3], which we were not expecting.
"It is a real shock."
Hamilton repeated his Friday claim that Mercedes had not made changes to the car itself since testing.
He also said the change in fortune between the teams, and the videos of Vettel's laps in testing, meant he had even asked his rival if Ferrari had run the car so low on fuel that they were "on fumes" at Barcelona.
"He says he wasn't," added Hamilton. "It is a difficult circuit [Albert Park] and it is quite gusty here as well.
"It could be a number of things, but I am really, really grateful for where our car is and where it enabled us to be today.
"I know Ferrari will be pushing hard and progressing over the coming days and tomorrow I am sure that they will put up a good fight as they are always strong in the races."
Hamilton said he had to "brush off" an unusual mistake on his first flying lap in Q3 and "pull something special at the end" in order to topple teammate Bottas.
He added that there "could not really be a better way to start the year" than Mercedes' crushing one-two.
Previous article
Surprised Vettel says Ferrari "should be better than this"
Next article
Horner: Gasly Q1 exit down to "perfect storm"
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Australian GP |
| Drivers | Valtteri Bottas , Lewis Hamilton |
| Teams | Mercedes |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
The defining traits that set F1’s best apart
What makes the very best drivers in Formula 1 stand out among what is already a highly elite bunch? Andrew Benson takes a closer look at those with the special blend of skill, judgment, feel and attitude that sets only a select few apart from the rest.
The updates Williams hopes will lead to a point-scoring return
After producing a car which demonstrated progress but lacked the points to prove it last year, Williams starts its new era of team ownership with the FW43B, its bid to continue the climb up the Formula 1 grid in 2021
How Ferrari plans to recover from its 2020 F1 nightmare
The 2020 Formula 1 season was Ferrari's worst for 40 years as it slumped to sixth in the standings. A repeat performance will not be acceptable for the proud Italian team, which has adopted a notably pragmatic approach to forging its path back to the top
Why Aston Martin’s arrival is more than just new green livery
In the most eagerly anticipated Formula 1 team launch of the season, the rebranded Aston Martin squad’s changes go much further than the striking paint job. But rather than a restart, the team hopes to build on top of solid foundations.
The car Aston Martin begins its new F1 journey with
The team formerly known as Racing Point gambled successfully on a Mercedes look-alike in 2020 as it mounted a strong challenge for third in the constructors' race and won the Sakhir GP. Now clothed in British racing green, Aston Martin's first Formula 1 challenger since 1960 provides the clearest indicator yet of what to expect from the new-for-2021 regulations
The tricky driver conundrums facing Mercedes in F1 2021
Ahead of the new Formula 1 season, reigning world champions Mercedes will take on challenges both old and new. This also can be said for its driver conundrum which could become key to sustaining its ongoing success...
How Alpine's cure to 2021 F1 rules starts at the front
A new name, new faces and new colours pulls the rebranded Alpine Formula 1 team into a new era while carrying over core elements of its 2020 car. But under the surface there's more than meets the eye with the A521 which hints at how the team will tackle 2021...
Can Mercedes' W12 retain the team's crown?
Replacing Formula 1's fastest car was never going to be an easy feat for Mercedes. Amid the technical rule tweaks to peg back the W12 and its 2021 rivals, the new Mercedes challenger will remain the target to beat
