Mercedes’ Miami Grand Prix went from one-two in the opening practice session to one of its toughest weekends of the season.
It rescued a Ferrari- and Aston Martin-beating points haul on Sunday but it was a reminder of the deficit Mercedes still faces to the dominant force in Formula 1, Red Bull.
There is of course a significant upgrade being introduced at the next race at Imola that team principal Toto Wolff sees as a “reset” after its struggles since the ground effect regulations were introduced last year.
But while Mercedes is optimistic about what is characterised as its new baseline, its lack of understanding of the reasons for its Miami struggles raises yet more questions about whether it really is on top of its F1 problems.
What’s more, even if Mercedes has changed its direction to point the right way and its Imola package works, can it really catch up having lost so much ground over the past year?
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