At this start to the season, Red Bull and Ferrari have been the strongest teams, leaving Mercedes out of the spotlight as they try to fix their porpoising issues.
But while some have already begun to write off Mercedes in the title battle, Red Bull motorsports adviser Helmut Marko is in no doubt that the German manufacturer remains a threat.
Speaking exclusively to the YouTube channel of Motorsport.com’s sister website Formel1.de, Marko denied that the early performance spelled the end of the Mercedes era in F1, like the one Red Bull suffered after 2013.
“You have to distinguish between the two cases,” he said. “The post-2013 era coincided with the new engine rules, and Mercedes had incredible dominance at this stage.”
“They were up to two seconds ahead of everyone, but logically they didn’t show it. Now, with the change of chassis and engine, the differences are not that big. Mercedes can no longer click and suddenly it’s a party for them.”
“But the team is very well positioned and also has some really important people in the chassis area.”
“I am completely convinced that they will come back if they control the porpoising. And Lewis Hamilton is nine points behind Verstappen, so that is also nothing.”
“I don’t think it’s the end [of an era], but maybe we’ll have a battle on the same level.”
In addition to the porpoising problems suffered by Mercedes, the power unit of the Germans no longer seems to be the best on the grid.
And given that Ferrari and Red Bull have made progress on that front, Marko reckons the change in order could be a result of the move in 2022 to a more sustainable fuel.
“I don’t know exactly why Mercedes has been left behind,” he admitted. “Surely it must have something to do with the increase in synthetic fuel, which went from five to 10%.”
Asked if Mercedes had gotten too confident with the fuel switch, Marko replied: “Well, it wasn’t a doddle for us, and it’s not all the same. But of course we don’t have that detailed knowledge of Mercedes.”
“Logic, however, is that one explanation is related to fuel. And of course when you lose so many important people…first Andy Cowell is gone, and then 50 or so other people, for so the impact is logical”.
And when asked if those 50 people who left Mercedes are now at Red Bull or not, Marko said: “Something like that, yes.”
