Mercedes programme ahead of schedule thanks to ‘faultless’ W17

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has offered a positive review of the team’s progress in Barcelona, suggesting the Brackely squad is hitting its stride earlier than anticipated.

At the midway point on Wednesday of Formula 1’s pre-season shakedown, Mercedes have quietly ticked off a long list of objectives, racked up impressive mileage and, perhaps most importantly, avoided any of the reliability headaches that frequently weigh on a team’s early preparations.

For Shovlin, the signs so far are all poiting firmly in the right direction.

Mileage Up, Problems Down

Mercedes elected to start its Barcelona programme on Monday, sit out Tuesday, and return on Wednesday – a plan that appears to be paying dividends.

While lap times remain unofficial, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was credited with the quickest time of the day on Wednesday as the W17 logged a hefty 183 laps in a single day with the young Italian and George Russell, bringing their two-day haul well over the 300-lap mark.

For Shovlin, the sheer volume of running is the biggest takeaway.

“Mileage, we’re a bit ahead of where we hoped to be,” he said. “So that’s good,” he told the F1 website. “You normally expect to have a few teething problems, the odd reliability thing that costs you track time.”

Remarkably, the only thing slowing the Silver Arrows down has been the misfortune of their rivals.

“Today [Wednesday], the car worked faultlessly. We’re actually losing more track time from other people breaking down and causing red flags than for anything on our side. So that’s good,” Shovlin noted.

Data Mastery and Driver Comfort

While Mercedes’ car is running like clockwork, the technical team is still busy under the hood. With a suite of brand-new electrical systems to calibrate, the focus remains on ensuring every byte of information coming back to the pits is 100% reliable.

“In terms of data gathered, we’re getting there, but as all the electrical systems are new, there’s still quite a few issues that we’re bottoming out with collecting the data and making sure everything’s as accurate as we normally have it,” Shovlin explained.

“But as I said, we had a long list of objectives and if anything we’re slightly ahead of where we expected to be on Day Two.”

Beyond the numbers, the early feedback from the cockpit is equally encouraging. Both Russell and Antonelli seem to have found a car that responds to their inputs with newfound agility.

“They’re happy with the car,” Shovlin revealed. “It’s a nicer thing to drive than the previous regulations. It’s a bit lighter. It turns quite nicely for them. We’ve got a decent balance, low and high speed.”

• Read also: Barcelona test – Day 3: Mercedes and Antonelli on top

However, the veteran engineer remains grounded, knowing that a "nice" car is only valuable if it tops the charts when it matters most.

“But ultimately, whether they’re happy or not will come down to whether they’re quick or not,” he concluded.

“And I think we’ll start to see what people can do maybe on that final day. But you know, realistically that work is going to push into Bahrain.”

With the foundations firmly laid in Spain, Mercedes looks poised to head to the season opener with a serious spring in their step.

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