Mercedes W14 Slower Than Aston Martin if Engineer is to be Believed

F1 engineer analyses pre-season testing data so far.

According to an F1 engineer, the Aston Martin team could be faster than the Mercedes W14. 

The pre-season testing is well under way in Bahrain with just a few more hours to go for todays session and one final day tomorrow. Aston Martin has shown a significantly improved performance from last year, despite one of their drivers, Lance Stroll, potentially being out of action for the season-opener next week. 

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, an engineer explained:

"Aston Martin has made the biggest step forward. According to our calculations, they are at least fourth and could even pose a threat to Mercedes and Ferrari."

The engineer continued to explain that the AMR23 could be a threat to Mercedes and Ferrari:

"Aston Martin has made the biggest step forward. According to our calculations, they are at least fourth and could even be dangerous to Mercedes and Ferrari."

Mercedes have been able to improve from the dreaded W13, however, it is still not known if they have been able to get themselves into a position to be competitive against Red Bull and Ferrari. George Russell has explained that they are not in the same position as last year but that he feels it is unlikely they will be able to fight for a win next week. 

The countdown is on for the first race weekend of the 2023 season, which is on 3-5 March in Bahrain. Although the pre-season testing is giving a small insight into what fans can expect from the teams, next weekend will be the first opportunity to get a real feel for this as some teams will be "sand-bagging" during testing.