The Mercedes Formula 1 team admits it was "pretty confused" by the behaviour of its 2017 car in the early stages of the season, as it suffered repeated defeats to Ferrari. Mercedes ultimately claimed a fourth consecutive F1 championship double, but trailed Ferrari after six races having struggled to consistently unlock performance from the W08, leading team boss Toto Wolff to dub the car a "diva". The car was overweight in the early part of the campaign, and struggled to use Pirelli's new ultrasoft tyre properly, but Mercedes eventually developed the W08 well enough to win both championships comfortably. Chief designer John Owen admitted the initial difficulties with the...
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