Ferrari stole the show last week during the Formula One testing in Jerez. Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel grabbed headlines for logging the quickest finish in three of the four days of tests in Spain. Another Ferrari-powered car driven by Sauber’s Felipe Nasr also recorded the fastest time on one of the mentioned days.
So, will this signal the end of the dominance of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, and bring back Ferrari to its former glory? Not likely.
Ferrari might have gained significant improvements in its power unit this season, but teams with Mercedes engines remain as forces to be reckoned with. This is particularly true with the 2014 Constructors’ Champion. According to a report on Autosport, speed trap records showed a significant margin possessed by Mercedes cars in terms of power.
The figures were obtained by the source towards the back straight at Jerez before slowing at the Dry Sack hairpin. The numbers displayed that the cars with the highest speed had Mercedes engines.
Nico Rosberg of Mercedes-AMG Petronas and Felipe Massa of Williams both logged top speeds of 307.6 km/h during the two days of the testing. On the other hand, Pastor Maldonado of Lotus recorded a max speed of 306.8 km/h.
The Renault-powered Toro Rosso car of Max Verstappen and Marcus Ericsson of the Ferrari-equipped Sauber followed with 303.3 km/h top speeds. The data from the car of Vettel was not known though because of transponder issues.
Looking at these factors, the engine rivals of Mercedes looked to have already regained their footing after their dismal performances in the last season. This would really make the races more exciting in the 2015 season. However, with the team up of Rosberg and the World Champion Lewis Hamilton, coupled with the reliable engines of the three-pointed star marque and their cars’ excellent architecture, there is a high probability that team Mercedes will still emerge as the Constructors’ Champion. If there is something to be worried about, it’s the other teams with the same engine as them.
