Andreas Seidl has backed Mercedes to emerge as a stronger team from F1's season opener in Bahrain, where the German outfit managed to win in spite of Red Bull's stunning pace. Seidl, who is the current McLaren F1 team principal, has also weighed in on the controversy surrounding the low-rake vs high-rake philosophies of F1 cars. But with the likes of Mercedes and Aston Martin airing grievances that new regulations have hit their low-rake cars harder, does the German believe it's made a big difference in 2021 performance-wise? "I think it is difficult for every team to judge whether one or the other philosophy has now been more influenced by the aerodynamic changes. Because we all ultimately had our concept from last year as the basis over the winter," Seidl told German outlet RTL. "You have to wait in the next races how the balance of power will be sorted, where Mercedes and Aston Martin will also stand with the so-called low-rake concept. "I am sure that after such a race weekend as in Bahrain, where Mercedes won anyway in the end, they will fight back mercilessly in the next race." Nevertheless, regarding his own team's performance, the 45-year-old is adamant that his team no longer have any excuses moving forwards, as the 2021 season sees the team using Mercedes engines for the first time since 2014. "We believe that we now have the best power unit available for us in the rear [of the car[. It's a great reference for us. We also have a top driver pairing at the start," Seidl concluded. "That's why we know exactly what we still have to do as a team in the coming years in order to be able to fight at the very front."
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