After the first pre-season tests of 2022 in Barcelona, nobody in the Formula 1 paddock believes that the teams have put all their cards on the table. It is almost impossible to predict the natural order that the grid will have at the first round in Bahrain, something totally different from what happened in 2014 .
In the course that the hybrid power units were released, Mercedes showed absolute dominance in each and every one of the races, and only on a few occasions was its throne in danger.
The Brackley-based team’s former technical director, Paddy Lowe , recalls the incredible superiority shown by the star team: “I think when we got to the first tests, or rather the second ones, it became clear that some were desperate and that we were in very good shape.
“Then we came into testing in Bahrain with another upgrade that suddenly added another seven or eight tenths of pure power,” the Briton told Formula 1 ‘s ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast. “At that moment we knew we were in a special position.”
Mercedes bosses didn’t want to ‘win by much’ at the start of the hybrid era
It was exciting to experience what uncontested dominance felt like, “but there were also other concerns,” the 59-year-old engineer commented: “Imagine you have Toto [Wolff] and the Daimler board worried about doing too well.”
“There were also material reasons for it, because the politics of the time, when Bernie [Ecclestone] said everything was a nightmare, these engines were terrible (hybrid V6s). The idea was that if Mercedes were doing ridiculously well, they would do something to the respect,” Lowe explained.
Fearing possible rule changes that could harm the Germans’ performance, there was “a lot of tension around the strangest things,” the engineer said, revealing that Mercedes was very careful when selecting engine map types.
Mercedes power unit wasn’t maxed even in Q3 in 2014 F1
“In qualifying we never put the engine on full blast. It was a good car, by the way, it wasn’t just the engine, we also had excellent aerodynamics, better than everyone else,” he said.
“The discussion then was how far to rev the engine for Q3,” Lowe continued. “Toto was whispering in my ear, ‘This is too much, this is too much, let’s wait and see,’ and I just thought, ‘Yeah, but if we’re not on pole, we’re going to look silly.’ That was a big part of it. in the discussions on Saturdays”, sentenced the Englishman.
That went on for quite a while, “pretty much all of 2014,” Lowe said, “because the engine was never at full power in qualifying.” However, Mercedes took pole position in 18 of the 19 sessions that season.
Wolff contradicts Lowe’s ‘impression’ of Mercedes in 2014
When questioned about that story, the Mercedes team boss replied: “I think Paddy [Lowe], he must have been in a different situation than I was. The regulations may change.
“We were very competitive in 2014, and I think everyone could see that,” Wolff said. “It was the beginning of a regulation that would not have been changed anyway, so maybe he had that impression,” he concluded.
