00:05Mercedes headed into the enforced brake as Formula One's hunted and not the hunter,
00:11which it had been from 2022 through to 2025 in the sport's recent ground effect era.
00:18But while it's won all races from Australia to Japan, including the sprint in China,
00:23and dropped just nine points from the perfect 144 score,
00:26it's far from massive celebrations at its Brackley HQ.
00:32We are leading the Constructor Championship and it's a great start,
00:36but that, unfortunately, doesn't mean much more than that because we know our competitors are pushing
00:41and are closing the gap and will be pushing even stronger now during April to be back very strong in
00:46Miami.
00:47One area in which it must improve for Miami are race starts, which have seen the team swamped,
00:53including at the last race in Japan, where it was overhauled by the McLarens.
00:58But the Silver Arrows have taken heart from that fact.
01:02We are working with a very high priority on this topic to try to improve it for the next races.
01:06And we know, for example, looking at the McLaren start in Suzuka,
01:10that our power unit can start well.
01:13We try our best to improve our performance in this area for Miami
01:17and try to make sure that we can defend in the best way any position that we will be able
01:21to gain in quality.
01:24Mercedes also knows it got lucky with Kimi Antonelli in Japan with his win helped by the safety car,
01:30even though it was planning a tire offset for him at the end of the race.
01:34While George Russell's weekend was compromised by a set-up change in practice, making Miami one to watch.
01:44Though there's more development time coming,
01:47three weeks between Miami and Canada before three double-headers,
01:51starting with Monaco and Barcelona, three European pairings.
01:57The game is on for Mercedes to stay ahead of its rivals.
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