After winning the last eight constructors’ titles in a row in Formula 1, all of them in the hybrid era, Mercedes has not started the new 2022 regulations in the best possible way.
Far from fighting for victories in the first two races of the year, Brackley ‘s men managed to score a podium with Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain thanks to Red Bull’s double retirement, but the Briton could only score one point in Saudi Arabia after finishing in the tenth place.
The seven-time world champion bounced back after an unusual performance, as he was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix, but in dry conditions and without accidents, you have to go back to the Grand Prix Brittany 2009.
His teammate George Russell finished fifth in Jeddah, behind the two Ferrari and Red Bull cars, prompting Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to say the Germans’ current form was “painful”. ” and that it was an “exercise in humility” for the team after so many successes.
The main problem with the Silver Arrows has been the porpoising experienced by the W13, on which Russell blames 99% of the car’s mishaps. But the Mercedes -powered teams have not had an ideal start in 2022 either.
In Bahrain, German customer teams filled the bottom six positions, while only one of eight Mercedes-powered single-seaters made it to the final round of qualifying in Saudi Arabia.
Wolff felt it was important for his team not to try to blame any one area of the car or engine , but rather it was vital to think about how to bounce back: “Now you don’t have to point fingers at individual things, we work together as a whole, and I think we have deficits in general that are greater than those of the motor”.
“Are we among the top teams in any of these areas? No, I don’t think so,” he told Motorsport.com. “But you have to remember that this power unit has helped us win eight championships in a row.”
“Now we just have to grab each other by the neck and, with all our strength, get out of this mess,” explained the head of Mercedes.
Those of Brackley are already 40 points behind the world leaders, Ferrari, in just two races, while George Russell, the team’s best-ranked driver, is 23 behind Charles Leclerc, who leads the individual table.
Lewis Hamilton, 29 from the Monegasque, after the appointment in Saudi Arabia said that to talk about the title he felt “very far”, and that Mercedes was “even further from those in front, so they had a lot of work to do” .
