Engine worries leave Mercedes vulnerable
Mercedes was fastest again on Friday at Suzuka but it has far less of a comfort zone over its rivals than usual, and that's a legacy of its shock Sepang failure
Ferrari and Red Bull should head into the rest of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with quiet confidence. Despite the fact Mercedes yet again finished Friday practice one-two on the timesheet, its two main Formula 1 rivals of recent times look very much still in the hunt.
In theory Mercedes should utterly dominate at Suzuka, like it has done the past two F1 seasons. It was fastest easily over one lap in Malaysia, and even more time is spent at full throttle at Suzuka than Sepang, which theoretically favours Mercedes' engine advantage even more.
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