Could simplicity be Red Bull's secret weapon in 2017?

Mercedes and Ferrari might have come out on top in pre-season testing. But could simplicity yet prove to be Red Bull's secret weapon in 2017?

Marc Surer, former Arrows and Brabham driver who is now a race commentator for Germany's Sky Sports Formula 1 coverage, thinks that's a possibility.

"The Red Bull is a surprisingly simple design," Surer observed this week.

"It may indicate that Red Bull with its Renault engine are betting on a strategy knowing that they cannot match the power of the Mercedes."

The team completed only 3184km in testing compared to 5102km and 4450km for Mercedes and Ferrari respectively. Teething problems with the Renault power unit rebadged as TAG Heuer on the Red Bull cost them track time.

But Surer also felt that Red Bull might yet be to play their full hand. He suggested that there may be substantial changes to the RB13 for Melbourne in a week and a half.

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"It could also be that Adrian Newey will present a brilliant update in Melbourne," Surer said.

Speaking with Sky this week, Surer said that he feared Pascal Wehrlein was in for a difficult season judging by what he'd seen in testing.

Wehrlein missed the first week of the test with a back injury sustained in a Race of Champions accident. However Surer said the real problem wasn't Wehrlein's health, but the car he was driving.

"Pascal is back after his back injury," Surer said. "But Sauber cannot keep up.

"They are using the Ferrari engine from last year. But Ferrari and all of the other teams have taken steps forward with their new engines."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.