Mercedes has a BIG Problem
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- čas přidán 4. 11. 2023
- In this video, we dive deep into the shocking decline of Mercedes in Formula 1! 🏁 We dissect their recent disastrous weekend, with a dramatic drop in performance that has left fans and experts baffled. George Russell's frustration and the lack of team orders take center stage as we explore the internal dynamics of the Mercedes team. Is there a hidden setup issue behind their struggles? 🤔 Plus, we discuss the implications of Mercedes' fading dominance and what it means for their championship hopes. Don't miss this must-watch analysis of the team's surprising struggles! 📈🏎️
In the aftermath of the Brazil Grand Prix, we saw Mercedes fall apart in a spectacular way. Not only did the setup of the W14 car under the control of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell fall WAY BEHIND Red Bull's Max Verstappen, McLaren's Lando Norris and the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, but team orders or lack thereof might have led to a compromised race plan for one of its own for the sake of the other. What is going on with the team as they struggle to maintain P2 in the F1 team standings. They are VERY LUCKY that Ferrari also had a bad day with Charles Leclerc not even making the start of the race. With two races to go, can Toto Wolff and company solve their drivers' concerns? What does George have to do to convince his team he's worth listening to?
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Mercedes are NOT a Team
• Mercedes has a BIG Pro...
• Mercedes has a BIG Pro...
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In F1 2023, all eyes are on Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the dynamic duo at Mercedes F1, as they aim for another Grand Prix victory. As F1 news today continues to buzz with excitement, the Mercedes F1 team, led by Toto Wolff, is making headlines with their relentless pursuit of success. Stay tuned for exclusive insights into Lewis Hamilton's journey, his recent interview, and the strategies that will shape the F1 landscape. Plus, get the Formula 1 news you need, including Aston Martin's progress, Mercedes-AMG F1's developments, and all the F1 updates leading up to the highly anticipated Brazil Grand Prix. For the inside scoop on George Russell's radio communications with Lewis Hamilton and the Formula 1 news today, you're in the right place.
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, "fair use" is allowed for things like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is when a copyright law lets you use something in a way that would otherwise be against the law. In some scenes, race footage from the Formula 1 calendar is used whose rights belong to FOM. Other photos and news items are only used to help the original content. - Sport
Why I think Aston Martin aren't washed yet: czcams.com/video/TMUjA7wWwAQ/video.html
Because podium, I was screaming at the top of my lungs for fernando
What the 😂i laughed so hard when you did the toto voice. Damn 😂
I don’t respect George Russell. I am starting to think he might be slightly undeserving of the seat. But I think he just needs a quick humbling to be set right. and I might've agreed with you. BUT ME THINKS. Your entire opinion is complete sh*t because you can't say "I think" like a civil (not a deadbeat) human being.
Martin Brundle said all Aston did was get rid of their upgrades and that's why the car is fast again...Sounds like they got it right at the start of the season and it is one of those cars that doesn't have much scope to develop ( Dan Fellows and Aston are restricted atm because they are designing around a car that is 60% Merc ) They need to follow McLarens lead and design there own rear suspension and gearbox.
Alonso needed this. Stroll needed this. The team needed this! Back on Aston hype train for 2024.
honestly, while George is being a bit annoying at the moment, I do feel bad for him. completely agree with everything you said :)
Thanks! Yes, George can be grating but you can tell he's desperately trying to prove his worth but it's falling on deaf ears.
Im not a fan of his by any means, but Mercedes‘ blatant favouritism towards lewis is clearly having a detrimental effect on the guy. Not only because the car now favours lewis a lot more than Russell, but the mental stress of the team constantly not being on your side is destroying his confidence as well. As much as I dislike his antics on the radio, I can’t help but wonder whether or not they would be there under a less hostile team environment.
@@milantoth6246 You don't expect a level playing field between a 7x champ and a "nobody", do you?
All sounds very rosy when you're hailed as "the future" but when "the past" says, "Wait a minute, I ain't going away in a hurry," things become very gloomy.
@@aoife1122 The 'nobody' beat the 7x champ in points last year while on the same team. The nobody also got a race win last season when Lewis didn't. I don't like George's personality but Mercedes as a team isn't good enough to be playing favorites.
@@milantoth6246 100% correct.
You floored me with your impressions of Toto and George 🙂
SAME!
I can understand George's frustration, this surely isn't what he signed up for and what he was promised by Toto and co. Mercedes becoming increasingly Ferrari-esque in terms of their overall functionality as a team, Hamilton who apparently has no intention of retiring, cars that are nowhere near fighting for anything... Should things carry on like this, it makes you wonder if he will start looking elsewhere after his contract is up.
I really hope he does leave Mercedes. I would love for Mercedes to bring back another bottas like driver (or even bottas himself) to complement Lewis. That's the best way they can fight for a championship anytime soon.
@@danajohnson6794yeah man of course it's lewis problem. Ffs you don't even think clearly, GEORGE is the problem from the start of the season. From ruining lewis lap in quali, not once but TWICE, and then in brazil sprint race do you think george play any team game to give lewis drs? the answer is NO. He just go as fast as he can. So if you think lewis is the one who wrong just STFU. Lewis just give the treatment back to george.
Oh, the things idiots would say for a nickel
Indeed not. He and Lewis went into 2022 with title reclamation on the brain...now they almost fell out of the points.
Alonso and checo are by far the biggest winners of today. If I were the one to make a recap of today, it'd be ten minutes of just gushing over their battle, and even though Perez didn't get to the podium in the end, I'm almost more impressed with him, due to just how much more pressure there is on his shoulders.
Oh, me too! I mean with all that pushing and defending, it's even a wonder why their tires aren't cooked! That was some magnificent battling and a photofinish checkered flag.
Their fight just proved how great Alonso truly is being able to fight back the most statistically dominant car. Hamilton never could have won constructors championship on his own unlike Verstappen this year.
@@59FoxhoundLewis won the constructors championship in 2018 when teammate was fifth in wdc
Definitely a battle that will go down in F1 history, or at least recent history. A modern reminder to new fans that Alonso is a GOAT.
@@59Foxhoundthe two sentences are completely unrelated
I think you hit the nail on the head, It feels like George has the ferrari engineer's on his side of the pit wall with how little they listened to him. The "We are discussing" was very Ferrari esc and gave me Leclerc vibes, amazing video as always.
I know the messages are delayed, but the "we are still discussing" as Sainz passed George was pure comedy
@@Evarakeus It's like they forgot who they were 😂 spends 8 years in a row destroying every team constructors side and then suddenly they're Ferrari for 2+ hours
Ohhh yes you're the first to cover the Brazilian gp while I craved f1
Thank you so much for the fast content
One of the benefits of owning your own attic... oh and also, being able to vocalize your thoughts without much editing needed. Just goes to show how talented this guy is ❤
Mercedes should feel lucky that McLaren and Aston Martin weren't competitive for the whole season.
Put Alonso's 10 best results and Norris's 10 best results together look at what you get. It's crazy.
Indeed. One of Alonso's best performances. This is an excellent example of smart driving.
They should also feel lucky that Leclerc had the issue. Otherwise Merc would be quite close to losing P2 in the constructors.
@@tharealmb I mean Merc have pretty consistantly been the 3rd best team. They have had a good couple of races prior to this, but generally, they have been 3rd best. They are only second because the 2nd best team has changed so much over the course of the season.
Very true. They are only where they are because of Aston Martin’s “upgrades”.
@@LawVS Alonso is probably the smartest driver out there. Pity Lance is not learning much from this F1 guru. If Lance matched or came close to Alonso results in early part of the season, AM would be up there with MB
I think the problem at Merc with the drivers mainly boils down to this.
Lewis pretty much only wants a car that can win races and titles. Thats all his focused on.
George is focused pretty much solely on beating Lewis. All his messages and queries are always about trying to find some clever way to try and ahead of Lewis.
Merc are a team that ultimately only care about trying to win. They aren't there to finish second. George's attitude is problematic because they don't care if Lewis or George wins, as long as Merc do. Its even more problematic because despite it being his main focus, his still failing to beat him.
OK and Lewis is even more problematic because he is too stupid to have valuable input towards getting the car there. He's been pampered his entire career and always gets his way including now. And that's why he only seems to sabotage the progress of the car because he refuses to adapt, so instead of making a faster car, the team is constantly trying to make a more comfortable car for Lewis which is also sabotaging George's races in the process. The problem with Mercedes isn't george. The problem with Mercedes is that it's a team of "Georges."
Great summary. Merc wants the team to win, perfect explanation.
i think today shows that merc does care who is in front and they clearly want to see lewis there (maybe because they pay him so much or because of toto idk) George was faster in the first stint and quite quickly closed the gap to lewis in the second. i don't know if he had the pace to fend of sainz but they could have tried since they are battling ferrari for 2. in the constructors. instead they told George to stay behind lewis and they both got passed.
@@Ross205merc wants to win but just leaves possible points on the table? I mean sure Russell was not going to win the race but considering the pace he had to leave on the table does not look like a team focused on results to me
@@joxay I think it’s win, not just get points. Like the main comment said, they don’t want to go for second. I think that’s the important factor there.
Mercedes outperformed by two of their customer teams in one race is embarrassing af
I know
It does make you wonder that Toto without Niki and James really shows him up as a leader.
The only customer cars they beat on track were Piastri, who lost a lap through no fault of his/the team's, and Sargeant, who's in a Williams (and even then, he was catching Russell towards the end lmao). This has got to be the most embarrassing weekend for MB in quite a while
Yeah that's kinda stark.
The one track we all expected Mercedes to do amazing at and they did that bad but the masterclass the astons did this weeknd and yukis week was amazing double points and holding Perez off in my opinion he was the driver of the day
I can't understand why it was expected they would do well. Just because they did once? Merc isn't faster. its the same problem. They depend on others doing badly to do well.
And have now had their first winless season probably since 2011.
@@MrBashem I can’t understand why you can’t understand. Lewis finished a strong 2nd in the last two races and the race before that the Mercedes cars qualified P2 and P3. And then obviously their car performed well here last year. Perfectly logical to expect them to be strong here again
I know George is kinna a princess. But I feel like Merc reeEALly left him out to dry today. And even Lewis to a slightly lesser extent. The vibe I get is that upper management got a little complacent at the front, and now forgot how to be an upper midfield team.
hit the nail on the head!
They did, yes. At least give him a CHANCE to catch Lance and cool his car down a little.
Can we take a moment to giggle at Stroll whooping Lewis. 😂
what about Stroll schooling Alonso in the same car.
Credit where credit is due!
I like that you pointed out that when Russel joined, he assumed to have a championship winning car.
Not sure what you think, but this looks like someone who thought he was promised that car and then team is not delivering. In other words - a driver bound by contract and very unhappy about it. Especially when he sees other teams making that progress.
(He also acts entitled and posh)
Lewis had that same expectation as well. Since he doesn't go in the simulator all that often, he wasn't privy to the deficit the W13 had as much as he should've had. Both drivers were promised title chances and got...some podiums.
I was forecast a championship winning car
I think George’s race pace when he was saying he was faster than Lewis was only the DRS and slipstream advantaging him. I mean I don’t think…I know so. It’s getting to a point where I think George forgets how good Lewis is and so he pushes himself to keep up with Lewis and then it just destroys his race because if we know anything about the 7 time world champion is that he is the master of going as fast as possible with the least amount of tyre degradation. So for George to try and keep up with Lewis’ pace may be detrimental to his tyre life which could lead to the possibility of Lewis always being so much faster in the final stints of races. I don’t know about that though just sort of throwing ideas about but in my head it makes sense.
I feel like it would've been helpful to at least let George try and do something and get out of Lewis' dirty air and cool the engine down. Maybe that might have been what saved his car?
@@LawVS who knows end of the day it’s all hypothetical but I don’t think george would’ve been able to pull away from Lewis once Lewis got DRS and it would’ve just been the same boat again. Russel wasn’t showing any extraordinary pace to warrant letting him past to try and push. Maybe merc just thought keep Lewis as high as possible to help with his points in the battle for P2 (which is most likely wrapped up now unless Perez dnfs in Las Vegas and underperforms in Abu Dhabi.) time will tell I guess.
As a Lewis fan , i feel like George should have been let by in the first stint, to see if he could catch Stroll , but in hindsight it would not have worked, both cars were slow because of setup
But I also feel like George was not managing his pace very well, and was trying to prove a point that he was faster, it was just a mess in a general.
Yeah, if it didn't work out, George would fall back behind Lewis. He was just waiting for the word...which never came.
I said after the COTA DW that the new Merc floor was a wash and they gained nothing on Red Bull, and TeamLH ripped me 😂 Russell proved the floor was bad when legal, and it feels good being right.
It was definitely inconclusive. If it's bad in Vegas...then oh dear.
What a great channel this is! It's as if my big brother comes to the attic to tell me the latest news in Formula 1... Well presented, concise and with a touch of humor. Wish you lots of succes, you deserve it!
Thank you, pal!
I think George is his own worst enemy at this point. A lot of his broadcasted radio comms through the season are a little cringeworthy and at times petulant or anti reality, where someone might want to put their hand up and call out to Mr. And Mrs. Russell to come pick up your kid. Now he has a valid point at least some of the time, but it would probably be in his and others interest to have those conversations behind closed doors. That’s at least part of why Merc is probably ignoring him. He’s communicating his internal feelings. And that’s not good.
He needs to keep his head down and simply grind his way to becoming a better driver. It’s like he’s gotten drunk off his own hype of being a “future WDC”, and being the heir apparent to the Merc dynasty. If F1 should teach us anything, there are no long lasting dynasties.
IMO - George has yet to show himself as having the legitimate form of a WDC contender. (It took Max years)
It’s also surprising to see Merc falter in the areas outside of struggling to develop a race winning car. For years they were good in all the other areas like pit stops, overall consistency, and strategy where they have really faltered in the last two seasons. While they might be a bit hamstrung in making the car faster because of budget restrictions, the other areas… it doesn’t have much of a financial penalty to pursue excellence.
I agree 100% he's to be obsessed with being better than Lewis instead of focusing on the bigger picture
He's desperate to be heard and not stonewalled.
@@LawVS While we won’t ever know as outsiders, in this race it seems plausible that George’s radio messages were going against team strategy. Like he wanted to call an audible. And while teams need to trust their drivers generally, I don’t think George has a good track record at making strategy calls, or in tire management.
Who knows what letting him through would accomplish. Judging by this past season, he could easily run out of tire by the end of the race, or make a mistake that necessitates a pit stop or retirement. And that would be bad for the teams WCC points. George is a driver that needs to be managed. And he’s not doing it himself.
He so badly wants to beat Lewis that he’s jeopardizing his race results and driver development.
I find myself wondering, how well would Albon do if given the opportunity? Could he outperform George? Leclerc? Is Albon the most underrated driver currently?
Irrespectively - really love what you’re doing with your channel.
George was faster because he was pushing the car, if he'd gone passed he'd have been re passed later. He probably was allowed threw because it Lewis was driving delta not at pace.
Maybe but perhaps getting past for a while might have cooled the car down.
@@LawVS I've heard that George's radio's might have been misunderstood.
He might have been asking Lewis to slow down as he couldn't keep up with Lewis and save his tyres, if they didn't want Lewis to back off then he wanted to go passed as Lewis could keep up in the dirty air and managed the car.
It would explain why Mercedes were reluctant to let the slower driver through if Russell never had the pace and knew he was just hanging on, and would also explain why Russell was annoyed.
If true I'm not sure what the better call is, sure if they work together they might have held off some of the drivers for a bit but I'd assume they thought it was only a matter of time before they got overtaken and did want to compromise Lewis.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen understand the most gains can be made by maximizing the 150kg of pressure they place on the brake pedal. George basically applies his 150kg's of pressure on the radio button instead, which isn't as effective.
Someone put out a chart of who used the radio button the most over the first 5 races of the season or something like that a few months ago and George was like 50% higher than the second most chatty driver. He needs to learn to balance this and maybe trust his engineers who believe it or not are WAY smarter than him, have more information at their disposal during races, and want to win just as much as he does.
There has to be a reason for all these frequent radio messages. It sounds like he's being ignored (somewhat fairly) and he isn't allowed to at least try something daring to get at least closer to another position. He just wants to be heard out.
@@LawVS Exactly, they even pitted Hamilton before Russel after the first stint, even though Russel was struggling and clearly new set of tyres would of at least given him a chance to do something about his race. (he also had better pace, at least until his tyres were fried after staying behind Hamilton for so long) Also, something I've noticed is that Hamilton complains, reports about car issues as soon as Russel is close to him, now is that coincidence or actual struggles with the car/tyres or manipulative behavior so that there are no team orders, I don't know, but yeah sometimes it just doesn't feel right.
Yeah, Russel is very annoying a lot of the time/most of the time, but I feel like Mercedes just doesn't want to listen to any of his ideas for whatever reason... and I kinda feel sorry/bad for him
With how they setting up the car, yah a headless ostrich will do the same job cause again they are doing the same mistake every race.
@@dioivan77755 Omg yes exactly this. I constantly notice these little manipulations as well, and i understand very well how most people dont see it, as he is really really REALLY subtle with them. Being a victim of such manipulative shizz myself during childhood, i know exactly what to look for in THE WAY people say things, the tone/ emotions that dont add up, the body language, the timing of it etc.. He makes them in multiple fronts as media and teamradio.. tiny twists to steer reactions of people a certain way kinda. I totally adore Lewis his racecraft but this side of him just makes my jaws clench everytime. I dont like george either but i cant help but feel uneasy when i see/hear it happen, it certainly would explain his passive aggression and questionable frustrated divebomb sometimes. Must be suffocating and its not like he can go anywhere else anytime soon.
@@LawVSDude you are selling a narative that Merc are helping Lewis. its rather George is slow in races and hurting his tyres by trying to beat Lewis.
To be somewhat fair to Merc, RB had an off-weekend last time in Brazil, so it's not an unique occurance. Aston Martin finding their mojo again this weekend doesnt help either. Vegas is bound to be interesting with some surprise unknowns from Merc, Ferrari and AM alike.
I definitely feel like Mercedes were too safe.
True, all teams have offdays.. but THIS race was really impactful for mercedes, winning this race last year gave them so much hope that they decided to keep on developing the zerosidepod direction for the 2023 car aswell, only to get these results in the same race. While 2!!! different engine customer teams actually reached the podium, imagine..
@@nymphithys1558the only engine customer that they didnbeat yesterday was sargeant. all other were either in front of them or behind them because of crashes that werent their fault.
I genuinely think that that Hamilton won't retire for a long time and George will be stuck waiting for his turn unless he takes a risk and leaves for Audi or something. He's trying to be like Carlos Sainz and prove that he is an equal to his teammate at the very least but that ignores the fact that Hamilton is a very consistent driver compared to Charles and is almost always gonna be favoured because of that. I mean why wouldn't the team pick Lewis if they were in a title battle? Sad to see his potential being overshadowed by a more experienced driver but that's the sport.
I did the math after todays Grand prix, if correct and if RB wasn’t apart of the 2023 Championship, Lewis would be losing the Championship by one point to Alonso. 283 to 284. While George would be sitting on around 180 points. It definitely makes sense on why Mercedes would favor Hamilton
@@OumuamuaOumuamua Actually interesting :O Alonso 3rd title imagine that.. perfect middlefinger to Alpine not wanting to sign a multiyear contract cuz of his age
Yeah, I feel like George will get swallowed up by either Mick or Kimi Antonelli.
If Mercedes don't improve in 2024 or even go backwards I wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton breaks his contract and retires a year early.
I reckon they WILL improve next year as they're clearly seeing what works. They couldn't do much as changing the chassis would be too costly.
I dont think so.
Even if he always says he has fashion, his commisson etc., deep down we know that Hamilton would be incredibly bored without f1 and that this is all he really cares about.... F1 is that sweet sweet addiction that hamilton will not be abl3 to withstand
@@LawVSI reckon itll depend on how much they improve on if he retires early but I also think he could easily come back especially say mclaren if lando leaves or if Lewis finally wants to have a go in red maybe Ferrari
@@xxxtracionlljllgripxxx2469 I would love to see Lewis back at McLaren as a huge Hamilton fan It would be awesome to see him back in his roots.
@@LawVS Are they? The W14's record this year is much worse than the W13's was (17 podiums vs 7, 1 win vs 0). People keep acting like they're heading in the right direction, but that statistics suggest the exact opposite is happening, especially as George is being snubbed on strategy so much more than last year. Aston leap-frogged them over the winter, McLaren leap-frogged them over the summer, and the entire time it's looked like Mercedes is just listing. Even Ferrari, for all their foibles, are level on podiums with Mercedes this year and have the sole non-RB win of the year.
I'm no Merc fan but I feel like mercedes have lost confidence in Russell. Mercedes are likely looking at Alonso and thinking, Hamilton is still at the top level, why would we focus on Russell? You have the proven talent against the potential/future in Russell who hasn't been on the same level.
Russell I think was the main reason the zero pod stayed as long as it did, given mercs previous standard he believed if they said the zero pod was best then it 100% is.
Hamilton from near the beginning of 2022 seemed skeptical and after the floor edges being raised and Merc still losing he knew the car wasn't working. Russell on the other hand had more experience is poor cars and was convinced they'd work it out.
We know now he was wrong and Hamilton was right. In reality they shouldn't have listened to Russell he was new to the team they should've listened to their team leader for last decade.
Hamilton knows what a championship winning car feels like over a season. George got in a car of that level for 1 race.
See I disagree with you on the Zero Pod statement. Mercedes are over 100 points down compared to last year. The car hasn't actually gotten faster since changing from the Zero Pod. It's just switched from a Neutral concept, to a Hamilton favoured concept. If they had doubled down and kept developing the Zero pod, they'd be in a lot better position.
Very true
@@Moray2023W14 is Second on WCC and Lewis is fighting for second place, last time they were no where. which car is better genius.
@@xamsedalabay6809 the car that had 505 points, 1 win, 17 podiums and worked for both drivers after Brazil. 🤣🤣 Obviously.
I don't think anyone can argue that the car with 382 points, 7 podiums, 0 wins is better.
@@Moray2023 This year Redbull is more dominant and more cars are fighting for the same position but overall W14 produced better results standings wise. they will make more money.
I don't really agree with the assertion that team orders led to his DNF. I think it's much more down to his aggressive all or nothing driving style cooking his tires and overloading his PU. Regardless of whether team orders were given or not given, I believe he would have DNF'd either way.
It's potentially a cause, not the cause. But thanks for your feedback all the same. :)
@@LawVS No worries. :) just seems like a few time now, when George is behind Lewis he'll hop on the radio asking for orders to pass or an increase in pace only to drop off a few laps later anyway. But like you said, perhaps the benefit of clear air plays a part as well
Excellent analysis. Thank you
You're welcome!
Just discovered your channel. Now a part of my F1 weekend viewing!
Awesome! Welcome to the attic!
If you don't like George Russell, that's your place. He hates him.
This W14 is a Frankenstein of two concepts, it’s no wonder they struggle so much in sprint weekends trying to setup a car which is way too much on a knife edge between okay and garbage.
Indeed. The W14, whilst quick in some places, is a mish-mash. The W15 will be a cleaner car.
@@LawVS the W13 was consistently slow (except for Brazil), the W14 is faster, but impossible to predict how it will behave on any given track
Thank you for the upload sir!
I don't actually think he complains more than other drivers, just his audio gets played more because it causes more interaction on social media because he's become the F1 punching bag after Mick left. Bottas often complained in races at Mercedes as well remember, especially being very vocal about wanting a different strategy that they'd never give him. If i was Russell, i'd be getting out of Mercedes as soon as possible. It's not gonna get better with the current leadership there.
The difference being Mercedes were actively sacrificing Bottas' race in attempts to secure Lewis' race.
@@Parker--What redbull is doing now. is there is difftence.
That's DEFINITELY something to remember, folks. We are hearing what FOM wants us to hear.
My parents are HUGE Mercedes fans and every time we talk about F1, they're so annoyed with their arrogance and flippant attitude in interviews. They're trying so hard not to go the RB route that they lost so many months of development to a better car for these drivers.
They need to rethink themselves and not act like expectant champions anymore.
I have to disagree with your analysis.
First: Mercedes did not drop off massively since Texas. The only reason Merc was close to RB was because of RB had a bad setup AND Max had issues with his braking. That race was a fluke, don't use that as a benchmark.
Second: George is vocal, because he knows if he isn't doing that he will end up as another Bottas. Like you say: Mercedes is putting him on a sidetrack. At this rate I could even see George make a move to another team.
That's OK! Like I said, they probably messed the setup in the pursuit of not stoking the ire of Joe Bauer. But thanks for sharing. :)
Man you can give Connor Moore a run for his money with that Toto impression 😂
incoming collab , yes please haha
Haha no way, that chap is WAY better than me. And more talented.
I hear what you are saying. But, don't you think the lap delta between Lewis and Russell was to small for them to swap cars around? On days where the gap was big enough, they have swap cars before. Both George and Lewis were told to conserve their tyres. Lewis was running much slower than he could at some stage and George could just match that pace. So even if they switch the cars, Russell wouldn't have progessed anywhere. It is weird that when he's in front and Lewis has the pace, he will call for them to work as a team and Lewis should help him do his race. But as soon as he's the one behind he doesn't want Lewis to do his race. The race that the team asked them both to do.
What happend to just overtaking your opponent/teamate? Lewis has done it in the past, where he just overtakes Russell if he feels he has the pace.
I do also have this feeling that the team pushed Lewis aside last year, wanting to usher in the new era of Russell and it failed. I think Elliott lead the charge and that is why he's now out of his job. Same thing basically happend to Paddy Lowe.
Lewis was very vocal about his suggestions getting no consideration. The thing that gave it away was when Lewis kept on saying, "I have driven many race winning and championship winning cars, I don't understand how you can listern to someone who hasn't done that before".
So the Lewis cancer nerrative is unfair. George has made enough mistakes to put doubt up and down the paddock.
Of course, I hear what you're saying; but I think George needs to be heard and perhaps had had a go at going for Stroll and getting out of Lewis' dirty air. Maybe that might have saved his cooling? It was worth a try.
@@LawVS thanks for the response. I personally don't think either cars had the pace on the day. I am wondering if Russell makes similar suggestions, as he does when driving, while planning their race strategy. Mercedes has always been ridged in their management of races. They believe in systems and data driven decision making. They believe that if mistakes creep in, they can pinpoint and thus having more control. Russell ranting over the radio creates a chaotic narrative. Not once have I heard him say, guys can we consider my suggestion of.....whatever. Mercedes is starting to look like a team between a rock and a hard place.
IMHO George isn’t being sidelined by the team without reason, he is sidelining himself and today was a good example. The “team game” relied on him being able to keep within drs range of Lewis whilst also managing his tyres and cooling effectively. George wasn’t “stuck” behind Lewis he just wasn’t fast enough during a very heavy management phase. He was fast enough without effective management however but look how that worked out……massive overheating. The team know this but unfortunately George doesn’t seem to. Put Lewis and George in an out and out fast car where no management is needed and George will finish behind Lewis 9 times out of 10. All of the current drivers are shackled by tyre and temp management but some can extract more speed under those constraints.
He is trying too hard and needs to stop, he has nothing to prove, he is a top driver, but still has plenty to learn. He isn’t as fast as Lewis on average in a car that requires both speed and management.
Merc need to sharpen up in every area if they are to achieve success ever again. It just isn’t possible to fire money at development along multiple paths simultaneously anymore due to the cost cap and Merc need to make their design and development much more efficient. They have a mountain to climb so totally agree with your title!
I reckon that if George was allowed to get past and catch Stroll, he might have cooled the engine enough to survive. Yes, Lewis might have caught back up or George fell back maybe but his engine would've lasted longer.
Great video keep it up you're doing amazing things 😁👍
I wish we could see more into the management of the teams. Mercedes and Ferrari in particular. They can’t seem to figure out how to build a competitive car anymore and yet both teams have crazy resources to use to get there. It seems like it’s more management problems than anything. But that’s hard to know because that’s probably the most opaque aspects of this sport.
Ferrari CAN make a good car, but they need to fully let Fred sort things out. You feel more optimism with Ferrari but with Mercedes...it's sad to see their stubborn nature.
I had to watch the race on delay. Watched it on multi screen. Had main feed on left and daniel ricciardo’s onboard + team radio on right screen.
This was a heartbreaking race. The last 25 laps are the worst. He was slicing through the field and the moment he got to Tsunoda was told to hold stations.
Even in the last 15 laps, when there wouldn’t have been any risk and Tsunoda encountered technical difficulties that made Yuki’s pace get worse.
Daniel had some very choice words on the inlap on team radio. He basically called out the FIA, and called the whole one lap down thing and FIA not fixing that situation BS. It’s worth checking out.
omygod, thanks for this! Im always a bit sad i cant listen to all the team radios at the same time, feel like im missing out on a lot. I was swapping between perez and alonso onboards for last couple of laps. From what I could understand from them, i felt like Perez was sort of being babysitted with help and advice on best racelines where fernando was faster, how to take a kerb the best, energy deployment and increasing engine mode to 10 last lap. Meanwhile, Alonsos engineer was just noting the usual gaps and deltas between them, total silent full focus from el beast in return. Masterpiece!
Yeah he mentioned that in the interviews. I definitely reckon that the FIA will look into it.
I've just finished watching the entire 2016 season on F1TV, and my feelings about Lewis Hamilton have shifted quite dramatically.
In the second half of the year, he repeatedly accused the Mercedes staff of sabotaging his car so that Rosberg could win the championship, notably in the press conference after Suzuka 2016. Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff were appalled. Then, in the final race at Abu Dhabi, as he led the race, he drove as slow as he possibly could all night at the front of the pack, in order to try and have others overtake Rosberg, who needed a podium finish to win the championship.
When asked a few hours later if he was disappointed about losing he said live on TV "Well, my car was sabotaged this year at the team. We weren't driving equal vehicles." He went full Nikita Mazepim!
When Rosberg announced his retirement a week later to help raise his daughter after achieving his dream, Lewis claimed he was retiring because he was scared of racing against Lewis, and knew he couldn't challenge Hamilton with equal equipment. He even added "I've been beating him for 18 years. If my car hadn't been sabotaged he wouldn't have even won the championship to begin with."
I'm sure he's grown up a bit since then, though his completely hypocritical comments recently suggesting rules needed to be changed to curb Red Bull's domination, after spending 8 years dominating with Mercedes makes me wonder.
I respect his charitable efforts off track, and aside from his weekly slow motion catwalk/fashion show entrances to the paddock, he never bothered me. But my god, my opinion of him has plummeted.
I remember it being very ugly that season. I don't blame Nico retiring after that. 2017 would've been uglier.
Mercedes triple header is not bizarre if you take into consideration that the improvement we saw with the Austin upgrade was mainly due to the fact of the car being lower than the limit allowed. I'm mexico we weren't able to dissipate doubts since the air is too thin and aerodynamics play a small role on that track.. Now in Brazil we got confirmation: the Austin upgrade is not the leap forward people were talking about.
I would hold fire on that since the team probably went the other way and were too high perhaps and were overly cautious. LEt's get to Vegas where the surface will be flat and smooth; if Mercedes are off the pace there...then it's time to worry.
i expected mercedes to do better in brazil, so i was surprised to see them fail.
also that toto and russell impression 🔥
He is the Latte Boi. Who’s in tears every time he loses a podium or a potential win like at the Singapore Grand Prix. And the Wolff can’t deliver a car with upgrades that are anywhere as efficient and expeditious as two of Merc’s customer teams. And watching Lance Stroll overtake him on pure pace must be like rubbing salt on an wound.
George was promised the world...and got left with a jar of dirt.
Merc’s indecisiveness with strategic calls has been an issue for quite a while, so much so that even The Race at one point made a whole video about it.
I thought they turned a corner in Singapore, but seems like they’re still reluctant to make more bold decisions in the face of differing realities to what was expected…
If they can at least get their pitstop consistently under 2.5 seconds, that will be a step in the right directions. 3 second stops are just...lacking.
3 seconds is bad. They still have to improve their pitstop consistency
👍🏾 well done
Toto impression was spot-on
That impersonation of Russell, I can just imagine him going off like that on the radio, sweating like crazy!🤣
Great video, and I agree with your points!
The way, the race went, if Leclerc, Piastri and Ricciardo (probably?) didn't have their misforturnes, Mercedes would have finished outside the points. Maybe George could have finished higher, if he was let through? Maybe not? But the fact, they didn't even try, is a bit infurating lol. The fact that Merc has had consistently slow pit stops since 2022 and their conservative approach to strategy add insult to injury.
The team line-up is amazing, but it is sad to see how poorly the team operates. Lewis and George were supposed to be the master and the apprentice, but the way it seems to be going very south.. - or not. idk i'm just creating a storyline lol
I love how happy you are when you mention McLaren doing well and being fast.
George is so whiny it’s comical, and my driver has been Verstappen since I started watching in ‘19, so that’s saying something… George is a very good driver, although his immaturity shows in many of his radio communications. I laugh every time he’s asked about switching places with Lewis. I do love his wheel to wheel battles because there could be a great overtake or defense, or a spectacular mistake.
Well, I AM a McLaren fan. I can't NOT be happy. But yes, the Mercedes crew look lost and are struggling to reset their expectations and outlook.
Excellent race! The car crashes failing cars, and a head to head race made this race the best of the year!!
Brazil never fails to disappoint.
"Oh no its raining again" 😂😂
Sort of unrelated to the video, but what are your plans for after the end of the season? I'd totally understand if you take a break but I'm also interested if you've got other stuff planned. YT algorithm and all that. I'm considering doing the join/Patreon thing but depends on what you've got cooking.
I've got Memberships here turned on but I plan to still talk about F1 and reflect on the season. Maybe reduce the output to every other day.
@@LawVS Sweet. To be honest I think every other day would be better even now. No offence meant but I know YT is a tough beast.
Your impression of Toto was super hilarious 😄
More of the same, please 🤣
Imagine a head coach in any other professional sport saying "we don't need to have good players at this position because we're better than everyone else at every other aspect of the game". They would promptly be shown the door. Having a weak link in the chain is one thing, but not even attempting to fix it is just arrogance.
They're trying to fix it...but they're doing it with bad grace.
You are onto something 7:19 here. At the start of the season there was a video where George, Lando... and someone else (I forgot who) where sitting next to eachother talking about stuff. An argument started because Norris said that George changed as a person since he joined mercedes (hinting he was getting arrogant I think). George replied by lecturing Norris about not knowing how it is to battle for a podium and that your approach/attitude has to change to fight at the front. Has george changed? And is this the result of some internal conflict at mercedes? Hmm..
I think Bottas being so outward about being so much happier at Alfa Romeo speaks volumes. Top teams will always be cutthroat and ruthless so people change accordingly. I think he's desperate to prove himself as Lewis's equal and worthy of his teams confidence for a WDC campaign, but his all or nothing attitude has bitten him a lot of times now like in Singapore.
Now that you mention it, Bottas does seem like a different person nowadays. Do you think george is scared of becoming another Bottas, I mean he has the time on his side.. Or is he comparing himself to Max, since they are similar in age? There's only a handful of drivers that won championships in their early 20s.. That being Max, Lewis and Seb I think. It feels like his all or nothing attitude is because he feels the pressure from comparison? @@kingofmemes5017
George really did change. In 2022 he was a lot more humble and calm. He beat Hamilton that year due to being consistent. This year he is not consistent at all. His ego grew because he has beaten Hamilton and now feels entitled and is trying to hard which leads to errors and mistakes. He needs to go back to who he was otherwise he keeps failing.
It was Albon with them. As for George, I feel like he's had to be more vocal and outspoken to get heard. He is from a team that fought tooth and nail to get into Q2, so that survival mentality is still there whereas Mercedes are more...placid?
Sainz was struggling with an issues with the clutch the entire race, at times in the race couldn’t down shift 0:27
Ah yes, he did mention that. Keen to dump it come the end of the race!
Great Content. Why hav´nt I seen you before?! keep it up. And please do a Toto Impression in every Video. Brilliant. :-)
Extremely well placed video! I loved the breakdowns. As a redbull fan, am happy and sad for different reasons. Happy that max finally won the GP, checo’s form is back and sad for the engineering team of Midcedes. I’m enjoying their downfall but genuinely I feel bad for the mechanics and engineering team…..
Their upper management needs to recalibrate and manage expectations or else they will be hit hard with downturns.
@@LawVS Except Rbr, pretty much majority of the teams are all struggling in some way especially Ferrari Midcedes and Alpine
just saw this please please please try to do the next one all like toto wolf that had me in stitches 😂and very good 😂
One bad weekend - a sprint race weekend - where clearly their set up which was to ensure they didn't get disqualified was too conservative. Park Ferme conditions need to be changed because it is short changing the spectators. With regard George Russell he needs to recognize that he has become the wingman for Lewis Hamilton this season yet he still considers himself of equal standing.
Yep! They must've messed up the setup and went too safe so as to not lead to another DSQ from plank wear. Went too far the other way this time!
I like your style, liked and sub.
Cheers!
I think Toto was being facetious about being so fast they didn’t need to worry about the pits. 2.9 is a good though. AM has been really hit and miss in their stops too.
Regardless, it's still a bad thing to even joke about. Their stops are slow and need speeding up
"Oh no its raining again" got me haha. But on a serious note I don't really like Mercedes, I always found Toto and some of the team rather arrogant and as much as I don't like them it hurts watching them implode over the past two seasons. I honestly feel bad for them, as someone who works in motorsports and has been around it my whole life the "imploding" is not very easy to come back from and it is not as simple as putting the W14 to bed. I think that procedurally they probably have a lot they can improve on and not being miles ahead of the rest of the grid has shown this. They are quite a bit of a mess but I hope they return to form in the next few seasons.
Yeah. I've seen McLaren implode a lot and this is textbook. Mercedes don't know how to reset.
It’s a shame George did not change ICE and set-up to start from pit-lane this time, as next race is expected to be a Ferrari territory and most probably George will be forced to change PU there, that has even more risk for WCC standings.
This year is a mix of overdriving, bad luck, strange strategic decisions and reliability issues for George.
Let’s not forget how this year started - there were plenty of statements about Lewis’ 8th, it means that team’s and George’s interests are no longer aligned. And officially it was somehow confirmed by Lewis’s contract extension and later by promotion of Antonelli to F2.
George definitely wants to change things into his favour, but it is impossible to fight against the system alone, he actually lost 2 crucial allies in the beginning of the year (James V. and Riccardo M.).
Let’s wait and see 2024 drivers salary reports from trusted sources to see if Merc really rate George as their future or not (it has always been a very good indicator how teams rate their drivers).
Most probably he will find himself in a very strange position in 2 years time, where team is not built around him, massive online hate, not so many F1 achievements and lack of sponsorship backing.
Maybe, but even if he came up with that idea, the team probably would veto it.
I personally think Merc are done until they get a change in management.
Or change their mindset into challengers and manage expectations. If they don't, they will struggle.
I woke up this morning and saw the sau paulo grand prix race highlights got uploaded 2 hours ago at the start of the formation lap charles leclerc crashed on his way to the grid 😭😭😭😭😭😢
Yeah...that was sad.
Well did you watch it
Merc team now already accustomed with the top team mentality, opposite with George who started his F1 career in survival mentality in Williams. The team dont know how to handle him.
Good point! George is used to fighting for every single point.
@@LawVS Yes, and Merc cant handle the pressure/annoyance from George to make sure he got all the points he can get.
Mercedes never fail to disappoint
They just need to change their boundaries.
Loved the George in BW 😅
That's why Aston Martin swooped in... Best race of the year for Alonso
the team misses james vowles dearly now because i believe he makes all the big calls, like that radio from spain 2021 where they committed lewis to the 2 stop and james vowles was the one making the big calls
At Williams' gain.
What the Team suffered this weekend, is what George struggled with in Mexico and clearly didn't believe or listened to him because Lewis finished P2. So, they thought it's George's inability to manage tyres.
The thing is with George or his frustration with the Team is they still have the dominant car mentality which unfortunately is no longer there and they are struggling to adapt. Its not that George is trying to say hey look at me and what i can do, but, its lets adapt and think outside the box and that is what he did last year to great success and what he had to do at Williams.
But, unfortunately the focus is too much on Lewis getting his 8th Championship at the expense of everyone and everything. Don't get me wrong after AD21 he deserves it.
I fear that pressure is unhealthy and will lead to more Engineers leaving. Imagine Mike Elliott leaving.
LH focuses alot on copying the RB instead of giving the Engineers freedom to do what they think best.
I am sure i am alone in this, but I have a funny feeling that the zeropod concept was not far out as people thought, but with much tweaking during learning it might have brought innovation. But, Mercedes buckled under pressure of fans and media.
George is not the problem, lack of vision and direction from the Team as to what is important.
That's a very good point. Mercedes need to change their mindset into being a catcher-upper. They're still thinking like they're leading the title and this is a terrible result. Sure, it is but they're not trying to salvage something and instead are moaning about their plight. George is trying to get them any point possible and they're not listening. As for the zeropods, MAYBE it might have been innovative, but we'll never know. You're right, they stopped too soon.
I mean, it's hard to accuse George of being the guy with bad ideas when in this very same race Lewis said ...they should have put on hards instead of softs during the race...🤦♂ You can't make this stuff up. I'm not going to go too hard on Merc for failing to get the setup right because of the asinine restrictions on sprint weekends (which is basically, get it right before the weekend starts or fall out of the points), but I don't think there's a particularly smart member of that team outside of the factory. Lewis has bad ideas or says incredibly dumb things about every week, George takes very closely after Lewis in that regard and probably the only thing he can beat Lewis at right now any given week, the team managed to fumble an easy win off Verstappen who didn't have brakes two weeks ago, and yet when they do happen to get the machine right they look to have the second fastest car on the grid for the last 3/5 of this season and the only thing managing to thwart their weekends are themselves.
I think George really needs to state his case more before the race and be taken seriously.
Isn't that what any type of motor sports is about? Which team has the right vehicle setup, right formula, then pedal to the metal. And win 🏁on any circuit. 🏎🏍😲😳
Of course, but there's also the factor of managing expectations on the day.
6:47 regardless of the win they should have dropped the zero sidepods anyway. I don't understand how a team like Merc suffered the season that they had, went through the winter and turned up to testing with the same concept only to publicly ditch it at the first race of this year. It makes no sense and given how the gap between them and the front has largely stayed the same I would be concerned going into next year.
Indeed. They are very much struggling with the concept.
@@LawVS Curious to see whether they turn up with a Red Bull concept or continue to pioneer their own next year
Look on the bright side, our boy got 2nd!!! And our other boy got 3rd! Honestly can complain 🤷🏻♂️
Oh I'm happy with the result, but I can't hide my shock at Mercedes dropping the ball this hard.
@@LawVS quite the upset indeed! I’ll also add that Stroll’s performance today was very strong compared to what we’ve been seeing recently!
I am baffled as to what Mercedes were thinking with their setup. Merc has very rarely imposed team orders. They do it every now and then, but they have always let them race.
Agree, was glad to see they let them race since george came, was tired of the "valtteri, its james" messages.. hope they wont go back to that
Yes but now their team orders seem to include stonewalling.
I don’t think it’s just setup. They claim the ride height changed by single millimeters. The combination of design elements they have probably can’t converge into a successful platform to take on red bull. And what’s worse is I don’t see them finding what combination of design elements will get them there next year because this latest package was their last attempt at confirming a hypothesis for next years design. They need to somehow find this design now without knowing what elements will make them competitive, they’re practically blind now when finishing the next car. Basically making a second place team impossible till midseason upgrades next year
Indeed. They've still got stuff to deal with regarding the car. The W15 can't come soon enough!
Just beautiful :3
They need to reinvent themselves, because the 2014-2020 team doesn't work in the new 2022 era.
Mimicking George and Toto: hilarious
I think George is just trying so hard that and trying to prove himself but Mercedes have just forgotten about what they said about equal drivers. they clearly still favour and are still trying to appease Lewis over George. every time a clear team order should be put in place that would benefit not only George but the Mercedes team in general, they don't make it because they are almost too scared to mess with and defy Lewis. its making George make more mistakes whenever he gets the opportunity to "show" Lewis up because he wants to prove to everything that he shouldn't be treated like some second driver. and I honestly do feel bad for him as this clearly wasn't what he signed up for when he joined Mercedes. And it is really painting him like the complainer and the bad guy when he is just trying his best to prove himself but Mercedes are pretty much stopping him do that.
Indeed. George wants to play the team game, but they're not listening to him as he's made some errors in judgement early on in the season. He can't make any waves as long as Lewis is there and is demanding things go his way...which is fair considering he IS a 7-time champion...but icing George out is bad form.
In this video, Goku humbles George Russle.
IMO, Mercedes should have broken Parc Ferme and worked on the setup to get more straight line speed and start from the pit lane from the race. We know Lewis can come from behind with the right car, don't know about George as I'm not sure he's done that all that much. I don't know though
I think they were too high up the grid to risk that. Had they been on the edge of Q2, maybe...
merc needs a friggen oberhaul back home and in the track side. Ferarri need new engineers to put the car together and set up as well as a new pit wall xD this season showing it wasn't binoto lol (I can't entirley remember all the reasons binoto was binned, but he sure got WAY more wins for ferrari last year xD)
All they need is to accept they're not the leaders anymore and change their mindset. It'll do wonders for them.
I do find it a little worrying just how much influence Lewis exerts. When he complains that they're delivering a car that's much more to George's car, the management seems in a complete panic over perceived favouritism or worse and they bend themselves over backwards to give Lewis something he prefers. If I was in Lewis' shoes I'd do the same but Mercedes have got to show a bit more authority over who's in charge. They need to become more race savvy as well and be on top of all things because otherwise it's just a complete rudderless ship where anarchy reigns.
Charles' must have been born when a family member walked under a row of ladders with glass smashing under their feet. How else do you describe the season he's had?
He's DEFINITELY asserted more authority this year than since Bottas joined. Valtteri went along with the plan and didn't question it too hard, hence why Lewis liked him so much. Now though, with George fighting tooth and nail for any possible point, Lewis is getting the whip out.
“Listen George, Lewis is having a hard time out there too but he’s not being a twat about it.”
Then the silent treatment...
You might just be my favourite F1 content creator right now! Like the Tom Scott of F1
Thank you! I try my best.
Mercedes spent 7, almost 8 years utterly dominating the entire field. 9 if you count Jensen Button's Brawn season before they rebranded as Mercedes.
Personally, I'm really not bothered to see them fall down the rankings, and I just don't think Lewis realistically has a chance at getting another world championship and I don't think it would be especially interesting for the sport to see them dominating again.
I'd much rather see McLaren rise back to the top, and I'm itching to see Williams back in the mix too.
I've been rewatching the 2016 season recently and I'd forgotten how good they still were at that point with Massa and Bottas putting in some great results, solid midfield or higher.
Mercedes have had more success in F1 than any other team this century. I'm enjoying Red Bull's current form and McLaren's delightfully unexpected surge. I'd even tolerate a Ferrari resurgence before I'd enjoy a Mercedes comeback. 😁
PS - I do love your Mercedes videos though, spot on Toto impression, and I respected Toto's brutally honest assessment of the race on Sky post race.
Indeed. I don't expect them to winners FOREVER but this dropoff in competence and teamwork is shocking. At least Toto recognises this as the case.
@@LawVS It is bizarre. They've kind of seemed cursed since Max won (ish) in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Man seeing alonso reminded me of imola 2005
Yup! This battle is a great modern example of his skill.
Telephone goes," Valteri, Toto here. Do you want to come...." - Bottas:"F**** off".
love your George impersonation :)
Crikey!
I am in pain… 🥲
As a McLaren fan for a long time, we've been there.
@@LawVS I’ve had to watch george in that god awful Williams, he finally gets the seat in the Mercedes and…. It’s awful…
The car is very temperamental and if set up isn't perfect they have no pace and that means they need to be clicked on on the pit wall to maximise the points but they aren't, it felt like something we come to expect from Ferrari
Yeah, the car was too cautious in setup as per the reaction to the Austin DSQ, most likely.
Literally felt ashamed for mercedes today, zero pace, sloppy pit stops, no radio communication. They really looked like a amateurs.
Indeed. They really let themselves down.
I think toto doesn't want to pressure the pit crew
But they need to shave time off.
It was an amazing weekend of racing
Yep! Brazil never disappoints.
GR could not utilise the DRS like Hamilton found out when he needed the DRS behind an Alpine. And we all thought GR did not want to pass LH.
Yeah it was odd, his DRS wasn't working in places.
Were you not watching that race dude? What was Mercedes supposed to fo? Neither Hamilton or Russell were doing lap times anywhere near the guys in front of them. It would never have mattered if they swit hed positions. All that would have happened was Russell would have gained a .1 or so seconds on Hamilton, and then burnt out his tires. The onky option they had was to try to not lose any more positions. It was obvious. They would have told Russell to overtake if they thought it could make a difference. They've done that plenty of times before. They have all the data. But when both cars are working terribly, there's no point in that.
If Russell had been allowed to at least get past Lewis for an attempt at Stroll, it might have reduced the impact on the cooling issue.
Despite being P2 in the Constructors Standings, it feels like the fickle make of Mercedes performance combined with the inner team conflict being is gonna cause a decline continuing into next year.
Do you think all of Mercedes woes are just the change in reg last year, changing the driver line up or something more? I can't help but feel the leadership needs more than just Toto and it makes me wonder how important Niki Lauda was in the management before he passed.
MB should improve next year but can't see them challenging RB. Can't underestimate the loss of Niki (RIP), a true professional and perfectionist.
I feel like it's partly down to the regs, but it's also to the dogged determination TO KEEP THINKING LIKE CHAMPIONS...they can't do that anymore.
“Me thinks that” make me think of you as golum from lord of the rings