My Mercedes Car: Australian F1 Grand Prix 2019: Race Report

My Mercedes Car: Australian F1 Grand Prix 2019: Race Report

A strong weekend in Melbourne came to a disappointing end for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team today with Nico Rosberg finishing the Australian Grand Prix in 12th place and team-mate Michael Schumacher retiring. 鈥淚 had a perfect start today and was able to gain three positions, however unfortunately we weren鈥檛 able to maintain that pace, and the race did not turn out as we had hoped. The end was particularly unfortunate with Perez when we touched on the straight, causing a puncture which took away a points scoring finish. We have a lot of work to do to understand what went wrong, and how we can use the full potential which our car definitely shows. 鈥淚t was an unfortunate end to my race when I lost drive going into turn one. I was trying different gears and occasionally the drive came back, but in the end, I had to go onto the grass to avoid the risk of the car being forced into a spin.

It was especially unfortunate as we have not had this problem during the winter tests and were very reliable. This is why I am not concerned, as I know things like this happen in racing, and our reliability is not in question. I believe I could have had a good race this afternoon and I can still take some positives out of the weekend, as we have seen our car was confirming our feelings, and is definitely a clear step forward. 鈥淎fter a very encouraging weekend, today was not a good result for us. Despite excellent starts, both Michael and Nico had difficulties from the start of the race with their tyres. With the development of the circuit and the track temperatures, we fell out of the working window, and struggled with degradation. However we remain positive as both here and over the winter tests, we have demonstrated that we have a fundamentally quick car and we have a lot to build on. 鈥淢ichael was defending third place when his gearbox had a problem which caused his retirement. Nico did not have the necessary speed due to problems in the tyre usage, the reason for which we are currently investigating. The collision on the last lap cost Nico points but more concerning for us today is that we could not use the tyres as we did during testing and earlier this weekend. The team will work hard to understand the problem and to be in better shape next week in Malaysia.

Overall, the entry-level SLK is simply an example of getting the style without the substance. 5k more. The base-model Z4 is a full second quicker to 100km/h. If you鈥檙e operating at this sort of pricepoint, it鈥檚 a pretty simple decision - provided your head (and not your heart) is doing the deciding. The V6 SLK models are sportier than most owners will ever need - but the pricepoints overlap key competitors like the Z4 and Porsche Boxster/Cayman. If you鈥檙e in the market for a mid-range SLK, you鈥檇 best test drive equivalents from these other Euro sportscars for head-to-head comparison. And if you just want the super-cool folding roof 鈥?maybe you鈥檇 rather have the Volkswagen Eos, and a nice, long holiday in Europe? Incongruously, the SLK 300 and 55 AMG ride on 18-inch alloys but the standard wheels for the other models are 17s. All the models except the AMG will run happily on 95RON fuel. All models feature warning buzzers for lights left on, park brake applied while driving and low fluid levels, plus a brake pad wear indicator. The SLK鈥檚 interior is - almost - an ergonomic triumph. It鈥檚 overwhelmingly comfortable for such a body-hugging experience.

The controls are generally instinctive - and it鈥檚 nice to see the transmission shifter on the transmission hump, and not sprouting from the steering column where it competes with the indicator stalk on some other Benz models. The seats are magnificently supportive, especially on the SLK 55 AMG, and the wheel with flat bottom and paddles is also a delight. The 鈥楢irscarf鈥?feature, which is optional on some models, and standard heated seats mean you鈥檒l be able to drive with the top down and the exhaust bellowing even in the coldest months in relative comfort. However, the trip-meter would have seen me ripping my hair out (if I still had any above my neck). If zeroing it is an intelligence test, I failed. After picking the car up from valet parking in Brisbane I needed to zero the trip. Ten minutes later, I鈥檓 still trying (and failing) to manage this simple task. Okay, so at this point I admit defeat and attempt to find owner鈥檚 manual (also a 鈥榝ail鈥?. I call Mercedes-Benz - they don鈥檛 know either.