DPA/TNN
Doha
Mercedes hope to keep the distance from Ferrari in the Formula One constructors’ standings to at least claim second place in another season in which the title won’t be possible.
Red Bull claimed a second straight constructors’ championship at the Japanese Grand Prix some two weeks ago. Mercedes currently sit second, but third-placed Ferrari are only 20 points behind.
"With six races to go, we are enjoying the fight and will give everything to stay ahead of them, starting this weekend in Qatar,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said ahead of the Qatar GP on Sunday.
"We are back in Lusail for the first time since 2021. The first Grand Prix there was successful for us, so we are looking forward to our return,”
he added.
The inaugural Qatar GP took place in 2021, but it wasn’t held in 2022 due to the World Cup in the country. It returned to the calendar this season.
The race in 2021 was won by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Fernando Alonso, then at Alpine, completing the podium.
Mercedes intends on bringing upgrades to the track in the coming races to not only help them in their battle for second in the championship with Ferrari, but also to begin their planning for 2024, according to their Head of Race Strategy Rosie Wait.
After winning eight consecutive constructors’ titles – from 2014 to 2021 – Mercedes relinquished their crown to Red Bull following the new ground effect rules that came into the sport in 2022, finishing third in last year’s championship.
But they overhauled the design of the W14 in Monaco after a trying start to the year, and while the results have improved, they are still yet to score a race win.
They now find themselves in a tight tussle for second place in the constructors
with Ferrari.
Lawson to replace
Ricciardo at Alpha Tauri
Liam Lawson will replace Daniel Ricciardo at Alpha Tauri for the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday as the later remain sidelined with a hand fracture, the team said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to media reports, Ricciardo is now expected to make his comeback at the United States Grand Prix on October 22.
Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries at the sister team of world champions Red Bull in July, competed in two races but then broke his hand in a practice crash at the Dutch Grand Prix in August and has been out of action since then.
Alpha Tauri have said previously they won’t rush the 34-year-old Australian back to racing.
The team has also said that Ricciardo and their other driver Yuki Tsunoda will be retained for the 2024 season.
At the Qatar GP, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen can clinch a third straight world title, possibly already in Saturday’s sprint race.