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Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes that Mercedes will be concerned by Ferrari's recent gains in the constructors' championship, especially as reliability issues and software quirks continue to plague the Brackley outfit.
Coulthard addressed the growing threat from the Maranello squad on the Up To Speed podcast. While Mercedes has undoubtedly delivered a highly competitive package this season, winning all but two grands prix so far, it has faced reliability issues with its power unit.
While discussing the current constructors' championship standings, Coulthard argued that Mercedes will be frustrated by the gains made by Ferrari.
"100% it's a conversation, and 100% it'll be a frustration," Coulthard said. "If you've delivered a fast package but you have unreliability - yes, racing incidents, you've just got to accept that they will happen from time to time - the reliability play conversations will be firm, and they will be based on facts.
"And what is quite clear in this modern era of Formula 1 is the complexity of the software to control all of the elements to get harvesting, deployment and temperatures in the right window.
Bernd Maylander, FIA Safety Car Driver, and David Coulthard talk.
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Bernd Maylander, FIA Safety Car Driver, and David Coulthard talk.
"Some of the teams are struggling to get the battery hot enough. Some are struggling to keep it cool enough. This affects the operational systems overall. So it's an ongoing process. We're at the beginning of a development curve that will continue throughout this year and will settle down as we enter next year."
Mercedes currently leads the constructors' championship with 358 points. Ferrari, which is on the back of Lewis Hamilton's first win with the team in Barcelona and Charles Leclerc's British Grand Prix victory, now sits second with 285 points. McLaren follows in third with 195 points.
The Hungarian Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend (24-26 July), is the final round before the summer break.
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