P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Williams was ‘caught off guard’ by what the works Mercedes team has been able to extract from its engine, compared to its customers
Williams has acknowledged that Mercedes managed to unlock more performance from its engine at the Australian Grand Prix, causing difficulties for customer teams. Mercedes secured a comfortable 1-2 finish on the grid and in the race, while other Mercedes-powered teams like McLaren and Alpine faced challenges. The power unit performance difference between the works team and its customers raised concerns during the race weekend. Despite regulations requiring equal equipment supply, differences in energy management optimization have left customer teams behind. Williams, McLaren, and Alpine have all revealed varying degrees of knowledge gaps in optimizing the Mercedes engine compared to the works team.
