But design guru says a team could surprise like Brawn in 2009
Wednesday 18 January 2017 08:22, UK
Red Bull's Adrian Newey believes Mercedes will start 2017 as favourites for the F1 title once again, despite the new rules being introduced.
This season sees a greater emphasis being placed on aerodynamics, an area Newey is traditionally strong in, after the sport was dominated by engine performance since 2014.
Asked if Mercedes started 2017 as favourites, Newey told Sky Sports News HQ: "Unfortunately they are. They are a good team, they've a great engine, they’ve got consistency, so why shouldn't they be?
"All we can do is work our way through the winter, do the best job we can of interpreting the new rules and then see where we are."
But despite his cautiousness, Newey isn’t ruling out a shock performance from someone in the pitlane.
"It could be a completely left field team that thinks of a new way of solving these challenges from the rules and comes in at the front which is what happened in 2009 when Brawn and ourselves suddenly leapt forwards," he added.
The first of pre-season's two winter tests gets underway in Barcelona on February 27.
