Mercedes’ ability to dare to do new things is one of the qualities that has allowed it to win fifteen Formula 1 world titles, eight constructors’ and seven drivers’, in eight years, and Lewis Hamilton has never failed to underline this fact.
However, the Brackley team had always started from a good base, which on many occasions they had also been able to improve, according to Hamilton’s wishes.
The “magic circle” of the seven-time champion remains the same, even at the start of the 2022 season, however, what has changed is the starting point, the foundations that form that necessary base to be able to take risks.
The W13 project has proven not to be up to the task of its predecessors, which has forced the Mercedes team to be unable to aspire, at least for now, to its usual goals of pole positions and wins in each race.
This has been a blow for the current world champion team, especially for the technicians who have been working on the track for years, a group of people very used to fighting for the top positions.
Since the weekend in Sakhir , a hierarchy has been drawn that, for the moment, seems to be quite solid, with Ferrari and Red Bull ahead of everyone and Mercedes in the unusual role of third force, separated from the first two teams by a margin that it would not be realistic to cut in the short term.
The numbers say it all, but from what we saw yesterday in Jeddah, the figures have yet to be fully assimilated by Hamilton and his engineers.
The surprising qualifying result in Saudi Arabia went further, outperforming even the most pessimistic predictions. One thing is that it is confirmed that Mercedes is the third force, and quite another that Hamilton does not pass the cut of Q1 at the end of a session without any special unforeseen event, beyond having one of the worst cars on the track.
In the last free practice session, Hamilton finished in eleventh position, two tenths ahead of George Russell, but nothing could predict the disastrous result of qualifying in the afternoon.
Prior to qualifying, Russell’s engineers worked on the car in a regular work pattern, mindful of the goals, in this case a third row on the grid, that they had to pursue.
On the other side of the box, this prospect was unattractive, and the inability to accept an overall less than positive situation pushed Hamilton to try to go as far as possible.
The seven-time world champion’s W13 was launched very aggressively, with a result that was seen shortly after: a debacle that Hamilton had not experienced since 2009.
“Experimental configurations were tried,” explained Toto Wolff , team principal, of the reasons for the seven-time champion’s disastrous qualifying, “and the result was a car that could not be driven. The choice was too risky, although it was one more attempt to try to identify the weak point of the car”.
A potential fifth position, which is what would have realistically been within Hamilton’s reach, has now turned into a 16th place which has a different flavor, just as the driver will have other goals to aim for in the race. from today.
At Sakhir, Mercedes’ strategy seemed very clear. Waiting for better times (that is, the news of the W13 that will arrive between Imola and Barcelona), the world champion team was attentive to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Red Bull hara-kiri, leaving Bahrain with the podium of Hamilton and a common loot of 27 points.
Six days later, in Jeddah, Lewis and his team wanted to dare more, an admirable approach from some points of view, but one that goes against logic in terms of pure technical values.
Not even the most miraculous of set-ups could have allowed Hamilton to get past fifth, given the seven tenths that separated teammate George Russell (sixth) from Max Verstappen (fourth), and the impossible challenge presented a price to pay. .
Starting from the third row would have allowed the British driver to aspire to something more, taking into account the unforeseen events and variables that characterize Jeddah’s race, but starting from sixteenth position is something else.
Finally, there is another scenario that is far from unlikely (it was considered as a possibility in the Jeddah paddock yesterday afternoon) and that is a pit lane start.
A possibility that is linked to a potential change of set-up to face the 50 scheduled laps more safely, which seems quite likely given the difficulties that Hamilton encountered in qualifying on Saturday.
This step back would return the British driver and his engineers to reality, that is, that of a Mercedes forced to face the first phase of the 2022 World Cup in the role of third force. Not taking note of this would be a new mistake adding to an already difficult situation.
