Budding Rivary of Mercedes
In the humid desert heat of Losail in Qatar, the 2023 Qatar GP started with sparks as the Mercedes drivers clashed at the first corner. Both cars span off into the gravel, with Hamilton’s car terminally damaged. Russell however recovered to produce an immense drive from the rear of the grid to finish 4th. What might have been if both Mercedes had made it through the first corner unscathed, l wonder. The 2023 season has been full of telltale signs of this moment to come. Two high speed near misses as Russell drives into Hamilton’s path, the immense close pressure by Hamilton that cumulated in an unforced error by Russell at Singapore. Hamilton running Russell wide at Suzuka Japan. And the near miss that developed into a crash at the first corner of the Qatar GP. There is no championship title at stake, which makes one wonder what these two would be like when they find themselves in the thick of a championship fight.
The scene in the Mercedes garage is one of a stalled transition. Russell had dispatched Bottas and expected to be faster than the aging seven time world champion. All indications suggests that the design team anticipated a transition and may have designed the 2023 car with Russell in mind. While Russell fared very well with the no-sidepod car, Hamilton found himself in a car that did not suit him in any way. Though the car suited Russell it progressively emanated that it was considerably slower than the competition. It became increasingly obvious that the no-side pod concept lacked the depth of development potential to bring the team into contention with Redbull.
Reluctantly, Toto Woolf had to make the inevitable decision to abandon the no-sidepod concept along with its architect and Mercedes introduced a sidepod car with hints of Redbull features. The Mercedes car suddenly came alive and started reeling in the brilliant Aston Martin. With this transition, came a change in fortune. As the new car appeared to suit Hamilton better than it did Russell initially. The interesting thing was, while Hamilton struggled with the no-sidepod car, he always managed to do well in the race than he did at qualifying. Enough to still manage to attain more points than Russell. With the new car, he started doing well both in qualifying and in the race. With this, is dissatisfation with the car abated.
From a distance, one would probably deduce that the spark that set the rivary into motion, may well be from the dynamics and politics of this change of fortune of each of the Mercedes driver. The first signs of trouble came about after the transition from no-sidepod to the sidepod car with the sudden realization by Russell that he has lost his edge over Hamilton. A run of dominance that spanned the 2022 season and appeared to him to be a continuation in 2023 is over. This took the shape of two quite dangerous swelves into the path of a fast approaching Hamilton on two separate qualifying sessions. Russell in time got on top of his issues with the new car and improved is pace. His qualifying edge was no longer dominant and in race he was just there about with Hamilton which brought them into troubling proximities. Hamilton running tyre strategies that ensured he runs the last stints of his race with fresher rubber than Russell, increasingly found himself behind his slower teammate on older tyres.
The frustration of not being able to get the most out of his strategies coupled with the frustration of Russell wishing that he was not pressured from behind by his teammate became the new reality of the Mercedes pitwall. As these very obvious situations developed, Mercedes seemed to be at lose on how to manage it. Radio insinuation from Russell suggests he would like team orders to protect him from his charging teammate. Hamiltons on track actions, suggests that he has higher potential to take the race to the cars ahead and should be granted passage by Russell.
The Pre-2022 Mercedes pitwall would not have hesitated to make these obvious calls. But they appeared to take a surprisingly longer time to ponder the scenario on track. Which only served to increase the frustration of their drivers in deadlock. This appeared to take the form of Hamilton running Russell of track when he finally passes Russell in one of these situations. Tailgating him in Singapore where he was clearly faster and thought he had a better chance of passing Norris for a shot at fighting Sainz for the race win. And finally the crash at Qatar where both felt they had a good shot at passing Verstappen at the first corner.
The odd situation at Mercedes is that most teams would start placing their support with the driver with the most points after mid-season. Mercedes fighting for second place in the constructors championship with the driver with the most points fighting for second place in the driver’s championship, it should be a no brainer that they would take decisions that nurture these two aspirations. It appears the policy of letting their driver’s race each other persists at the obvious cost of lost opportunities and points.
So what is going on at Mercedes you might ask? That remains to be unclear. What is clear, is the moment that kickstarts an acrimonious rivalry has occurred. We witnessed it with Hamilton and Rosberg which started with similar trends. Rosburg’s unintentional act, that was intentional etc.
More importantly, what is at stake here? The obvious ones are Mercedes may lose their fight for second in the constructor’s championship to Ferrari. How Fred Vasseur would love that eh. Hamilton may have lost the moment to close the gap enough to Perez to place him under pressure for second place. With four races and 30 points, Perez may do enough to salvage his flagging season to take second in the championship. The obscure ones are the reputations of their drivers. Not managing this situation could burn out their future prospect before he has a chance to deliver. An acrimonious rivalry would certainly have implications inside the garage. This could develop into a much bigger problem than anticipated, considering majority of the garage staff are British. Then there is Hamilton’s rarified achievements and reputation. The wrong handling of the matter may well do that immense damage.
Qatar is a wake up call for Mercedes to nip this situation in the bud while it is a smaller problem. A much broader development of this situation may put at risk the prospects of Mercedes recovering its form to becoming a world champions again. The next four race shall give us a clear indication of what to expect in 2024. We could say the damage to the relationship is probably done. It usually goes when one cannot trust the other. They put on a friendly face, hugs for the camera and talks of respect. But is it so? More so, is how is this playing out behind the scenes in the Mercedes operation?
Mercedes are not the only ones with brewing rivalry. The Italian GP at Monza gave us a treat as the Ferrari pair battled each other fiercely for podium positions. Leclerc probed Sainz for any weakness with a few worrying moments that were too close for comfort. The battle for supremacy between two evenly matched drivers demonstrated what a championship title wheel to wheel battle ought to look like. Fred Vasseur goes into the end of his 2023 season in charge with the knowledge that he has two capable drivers, good enough to win championship titles given a championship winning car.
At McLaren, a more sedate rivalry is brewing. On his first full season with Mclaren, Oscar Piastri has wowed the F1 world with a demonstration of sublime driving. For Lando Norris, it is looking like a reversal fortune. As what he did to Riccardo appears to be happening to him. He was the rookie that tamed a multi-race winner. Now he is the more experienced driver being overshadowed by the rookie. It is a situation that would sting. McLaren is not new to these situations. The intense 2007 season of the Alonso-Hamilton partnership comes to mind.
It does not go without notice of how the Mclaren pitwall has sacrificed a few of Piastri’s races with team orders to let Lando pass. Those moment may have equally stung the young Australian. But you can’t keep a good man down they say. Piastri’s accendance has not been acrimonious. His mild mannered personality coupled with a very intelligent racing meant he appeared to pick his moments to shine very wisely. In his very first season, he has demonstrated to Mclaren to take him seriously. But more importantly, he has shown Norris what he is capable of given the chance. Piastri, a formula 3 and formula 2 champion, has the sort of credential that only Leclerc and Russell can boast of. His rookie season has clearly indicated that Mclaren most likely have a future world champion in their car.
Piastri is getting stronger and better as the season is drawing to a close. Which indicates that the 2024 season at McLaren is going to be a hard fought battle for supremacy between this pairing.Assuming Mclaren allows their two drivers to race each other fairly. Mclaren are now in a state of uncertainty of who the future of the team is. The 2024 season gives Mclaren a chance to discover who that may be. Lando Norris is highly rated and deservedly so. But there is a quite giant inside the mild mannered Auzzie, and Norris is discovering that he has a fight on his hand for the number one spot in the team.
While every non-Redbull drivers in the sharp end of the grid are encumbered by fiercely competitive teammates, Verstappen goes in his 2024 season with some guarantee of respite from adverse competition from his warring competition.
