Motorsports
Red Bull believes Mercedes will soon treble the fight for Formula 1 titles
2022 marks – not yet, at least – the end of the era of Mercedes’ eight-year dominance in Formula 1, according to RBR consultant Dr. Helmut Marco, who predicts the champion will soon be back in contention for victory at this year’s GP.
The Mercedes F1 entered 2022 with very serious problems, largely due to its inability to deal with the W13’s porpoise in straight lines – something Brockley aerodynamics is trying to achieve without compromising lift production over the new ‘Silver’s’ original design to enter arrow”.
The jumps, in turn, don’t allow the team to fully understand the W13 and adjust as needed to bring its speed to the surface. The problem is so big that ten days ago he let Lewis Hamilton out of Q2 in the qualifying tests of the Saudi Arabian GP. The Mercedes W13 is clearly the third fastest car in F1 so far.
One of the big questions ahead of the Australian GP in the next three days (April 8-10) is whether and to what extent Mercedes has found a solution to these problems. However, Red Bull Racing Helmut Marco estimates that moment will not last long and Mercedes will soon enter this year’s RBR battle with Ferrari.
In fact, the Austrian said we still can’t talk about the end of the “Mercedes era”, the team’s eight-year dominance combined with the transition to the hybrid engine era in 2014.
“The post 2014 era coincided with the new engines and Mercedes had amazing dominance at that point. It was almost two seconds ahead of everyone, but of course they didn’t show it. Now, with the chassis and engine changes, the differences.” They’re not that big. Mercedes doesn’t press a button and just party.” emphasized the Austrian.
And he continued: “But this team is in a very good position and also has some very capable chassis guys. I’m absolutely convinced that if they face porpoises they will come back. And Lewis Hamilton is 9 points behind Max (Ferstappen).” There is nothing. I don’t think an era is over, but maybe we’ll see a fight on an equal footing.”
Marco also addressed the issue of power lag from Mercedes engines, which not only the champion seems to have, but also McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams – who use the same powertrain.
The Austrian estimate assumes that this results from this year’s new biofuels, which now consist of 10% ethanol: “I don’t know what Mercedes left behind, it certainly has something to do with synthetic fuels going from 5% to 10%. Logic says that’s the explanation. And of course the loss of so many important people – first Andy Cowell (former Head of Engine Engineering at Mercedes HPP), and then almost 50 other employees.” concluded Marco.
However, if we define the era of Mercedes F1 engine dominance from the first year of hybrid cars in 2014 to recently, the performance of the Honda engine last year and Ferrari this year definitely put an end to that era.
Source: sport 24
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Max Verstappen has said he does not pay much attention to rumors that some teams may have possible technical advantages in their new Formula 1 power units.
It has recently been claimed that Mercedes and Red Bull have found a way to further increase engine power, while other teams are trying to eliminate this possible advantage. The FIA will meet with power unit manufacturers on January 22 to discuss the issue before the season starts.
Rumor has it that such optimization could produce around 15 hp, which is a significant figure at the beginning of a new era in technical regulations.
When asked whether Red Bull had an advantage in the pre-season, Verstappen replied:
“It’s impossible to know. Everyone is trying to do the best they can and I, especially me, have to focus on driving the car. I’m not here to be an engine engineer and explain all the details. Ultimately, this is a matter between the FIA and the engine manufacturers. I drive the car and I believe we always do everything we can to get the best out of the engine.”
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Red Bull Formula 1 team president Laurent Mekies believes the Bulls will be behind their rivals at the start of the 2026 season, given the production of their engines and new aerodynamic rules.
“We know it will be difficult for us, especially at the beginning of the season. I think we will fall behind our rivals, but we need to hold on for a few more months.”
“I hope we come back to the top, but it would be naive to think that Red Bull will be ahead right away. We will be behind at the start,” said Mekis.
Bulls will produce its engines in collaboration with Ford from 2026.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
After several significant personnel changes in the team, Max Verstappen has finally learned who he will be working with in the Red Bull pits for the new season.
At the end of last year, it became known that three key members of the four-time world champion’s headquarters had left. According to De Telegraaf, Jeff Ayton replaced Verstappen’s vehicle control engineer Michael Manning, who left the team after the 2025 season. He has previously worked with other Red Bull drivers and worked temporarily with Verstappen in Manning’s absence last year.
Verstappen’s former engine mechanic David Mart has moved to Audi and his replacement at Red Bull has not yet been determined. Performance engineer Tom Hart is also leaving the team; He will join Williams but will continue to work with the Milton Keynes-based team for a while.
Changes also occurred among mechanics. After Matt Culler moved to the position of Audi’s chief mechanic, Verstappen was replaced as his first mechanic by his twin brother John Culler. He is well known to Max, who has previously held a similar position on the other side of the Red Bull pits, working alongside Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite rumors about the winter break, Gianpiero Lambiase will remain Verstappen’s race engineer for another season.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
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