MERCEDES IN TROUBLE?: What is going on at Mercedes?

Following a shock weekend in Jeddah for Mercedes, and particularly for Lewis Hamilton's side of the garage, the question has to be asked. How are Mercedes so far off the pace of the frontrunners, and can they make up for lost time in Melbourne?

In pre-season testing, it was an experiment for all teams and drivers, focusing on data gathering rather than performance. Mercedes seemed to have a good start to testing in Barcelona, trailing only Ferrari for the most laps completed across the three sessions, and having the two fastest overall lap times, by at least two tenths.

However, in Bahrain, Mercedes certainly turned heads, debuting a striking sidepod design which some had described as having virtually no sidepods at all. A complete contrast of their design in Spain, which was much closer to the Ferrari and Red Bull design, but the eight time Constructors champions had other idea's in the second round of testing ahead of the first race.

It was unclear however as to whether this innovative new design would pay off on track, and as of thus far, neither Hamilton or George Russell have managed to drive a car that is competitive with the Ferrari's and Red Bull's.

George Russell in Bahrain.

Specifically, problems have rooted from the constant bouncing that these new cars have suffered from, 'porpoising' as they call it. It seems as though the frontrunners have managed to get on top of it, Mercedes on the other hand are visibly still suffering, especially losing time down the straights.

To add on to a pile of problems for Mercedes to fix, it seems as though their once invincible engine power, has diminished rapidly in alignment with the new regulations for the new season.

In fact, in Bahrain four out of the five cars in the bottom five on the starting grid are powered by Mercedes, whereas four of the top seven are Ferrari powered. Perhaps indicating a power shift in engine power.

Despite their glaring struggles, Mercedes have limited the damage well, having both drivers fourth and fifth respectively in the drivers standings, and second in the constructors. And if they can find solutions to their problems, with rumours of a new floor coming in Melbourne circulating, all the noise could very well be silence come the Australian Grand Prix.