Roberto Merhi believes struggles due to prime tyres

Mercedes’ Roberto Merhi feels his lack of qualifying pace is because he is unable to optimise the prime Hankook tyre.

The HWA driver has largely struggled to make it out of Q1 this season and feels the problem lies with the harder Hankook rubber, rather than any outright problem with his Mercedes C-Coupe.

Along with DRS, the softer option and harder prime tyres were introduced for 2013 in an attempt to improve the racing.

However, only the harder tyre can be used in qualifying, whereas both compounds can be used for the race.

“On the option tyre I’m pretty quick,” Merhi told TouringCarTimes. “At Oschersleben I was the quickest runner on the options, but on the primes over a single lap, I can’t get the speed and I don’t really know why.

“We need to work on that and see why I’m not quick in qualifying but am quick in the race.”

Merhi also said he will be trying a different set-up on his car for the final race of the season at Hockenheim due to Mercedes’ lack of pace last time out at Zandvoort.

His team-mate Gary Paffett qualified as the best as the Stuttgart manufacturer’s drivers in 12th at the Dutch circuit, and was its highest place finisher come the end of the race in ninth.

Merhi qualified 22nd and failed to finish.

“The qualifying pace has been pretty bad, so we want to try something different,” Merhi continued.

“We’ll see if it’s better or worse. It can’t really be any worse, can it?”