Breaking news
Formula 1
Mercedes warns Ferrari has greater potential to develop
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has warned that the team's main rival Ferrari will have greater potential to develop its Formula 1 car in 2016.
Jamie Klein
Published: Dec 28, 2015, 11:46 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
While Mercedes was once again the sport's dominant force this season, Ferrari rebounded from a subdued 2014 to establish itself as the Silver Arrows' biggest threat, with Sebastian Vettel securing three race victories.
And Lauda believes that Mercedes' competitive advantage will be eroded even more in 2016, as the team will have less scope to develop than the Scuderia.
"Ferrari will be able to develop its chassis, aerodynamics and power unit more easily than us," Lauda told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Mercedes worked hard on the power unit to be ready for the new hybrid era, but our potential to develop, at this point, will be reduced.
"At Maranello they have always said that we had more experience with hybrid power than the competition, and this advantage has allowed us to maintain a margin until the end of the season."
First three races critical
Lauda also feels that the first three races will reveal whether Ferrari is able to fight Mercedes for the title, adding that Vettel will make the Brackley squad's job much more difficult.
"I believe that the first three races will be critical for understanding where the title is heading," said Lauda.
"Ferrari has returned to being competitive - you only need to look at the gap they recovered from 2014 to 2015. They are on the way to further progress."
He added: "Vettel has given us something to think about. He’s a quick driver, he’s won plenty of races and his hunger for victory has grown this season."
Read Also:
- Ferrari says staff must be 'terrified' of failure next year
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Renault paid just £1 to buy Lotus F1 team
Next article Raikkonen can help Vettel win championship - Alesi
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jamie Klein
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Ayumu Iwasa wins as Kakunoshin Ohta misses chance to seal title
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
Super Formula
Super Formula
Fuji II
Super Formula Fuji: Igor Fraga wins while Kakunoshin Ohta closes on title
More from
Ferrari
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
13 h
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Latest news
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 4 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 5 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe