© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Carol M. Creasey
With their unprecedented success, Mercedes has earned a reputation of having the best car with the best driver in Sir Lewis Hamilton. However, according to Max Verstappen “eighty percent of the grid could win in that car”.
He spoke those immortal words in 2020, assuming that if anyone drives the fastest car on the grid, they are guaranteed a win. But 2021 tells a different story. It was clear to everyone in winter testing that the Mercedes W12 was struggling with grip, balance and other issues, and this was mostly due to new regulations which favoured high rake car.
Red Bull has been running a high rake concept for a long time, whereas Mercedes has opted for a low rake car. It is believed by some people that the regulations were changed to stop Mercedes winning, and to help Red Bull. But the work ethic of the Mercedes team is the best on the grid, they have pulled out all the stops to take this challenge on board, and make their car faster and easier to handle. They are still not as fast as Red Bull, but they are closer, so one would assume that Red bull will win the championship this year if it’s down to having the fastest car.
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So far this has not happened. Sir Lewis Hamilton has won three out of the first four races. He has used his maturity and experience to win, while Verstappen has made errors which have cost him poles and wins. He seems unable to keep within track limits, and his aggressive starts could have caused him a DNF if he was fighting anyone other than Sir Lewis. By staying calm Sir Lewis is not risking a DNF, and he is happy to yield to Verstappen if need be, and wait for an opportunity to overtake him later, which he did on two occasions this season.
During the last race in Spain, Sir Lewis and his amazing team pulled off another win with a brilliant strategy. By taking a second pit stop Sir Lewis was able to chase down Verstappen with fresher tyres, after a twenty-three second deficit. Red Bull tried to excuse themselves afterwards by saying that Mercedes was the fastest car, but as the fight for pole proved, they are very well matched.
The main difference is that Sir Lewis compensates in other ways for not having the fastest car – by looking after his brakes and his tyres. Verstappen by contrast destroys his tyres more quickly, so even in the fastest car, he is struggling to win the race. He may well have to eat those immortal words he said last year, because the pressure is on him to make up those fourteen points from Sir Lewis, and assume the lead in the championship. He does have nineteen more opportunities to do that, the season is still in its early stages, but Sir Lewis will certainly give him a good (and clean) fight.
It seems that certain individuals at Red Bull have started a rumour that Bottas would be replaced before the season ends, which has been vociferously denied by Bottas himself and Toto Wolff. This was aimed to destabilise Mercedes, but they won’t succeed. Mercedes’ drivers get loyalty from the team, or as Toto said: “We don’t play musical chairs with them”. Bottas added: “Only one team does that”.
So far the championship fight seems to be between Sir Lewis and Verstappen, but Bottas acquits himself well in qualifying, and he rarely falls below third place, which is valuable points for the team. Perez is settling into Red Bull, and was also close in qualifying on one occasion, beating Verstappen on that day, so neither of them should be overlooked because it is a team effort.
Mercedes don’t play mind games, and Sir Lewis always does his talking on the track. The team just concentrates on supporting their drivers, and trying to improve their car. So let the battle continue, he who dares wins!
Be sure to follow Carol on Twitter @eagertogo and visit her website www.carolmcreasey.com!
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