There has been plenty of drama in the first two races of the new Formula 1 season, exactly what the powers that be were looking for.
After the nailbiting climax to last season – where Max Verstappen pipped Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of the final race of the calendar to win a debut drivers’ championship and end the Briton’s hopes of a record eighth title – it’s been more of the same so far this time out.
Some of that has been by design, with new rules and regulations brought in to increase competition.
That’s happened so far, as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend.
“They have achieved what they wanted to achieve,” he said of the new rules.
“Spectacular racing, good overtaking, the grid has been shaken up – which is less fun for us – but it happens.
“The midfield is extremely close so overall, from the entertainment factor, I’m happy about the hype around Formula 1. I think then they achieved the target. You can only applaud for how that all came in.”
Wolff’s claim it was “less fun” for the German powerhouse is because his drivers – Hamilton and George Russell – have struggled in the first two races. In Jeddah, seven-time world champion Hamilton failed to get out of Q1 qualifying for the first time in five years. He then ended the race battling it out for a single point.
These are tough times for Mercedes, as Wolff acknowledged, as they look at Ferrari steaming ahead in the constructors’ championship.
Ferrari are way out in front at the head of the constructors’ championship with 78 points from the opening pair of races. That puts the Italians ahead of the eight-time champions Mercedes on 38 points and Red Bull a point behind their German rivals.
“We had the luxury of being in the middle of those fun games for the past eight years and it is extremely painful not to be part of those games by quite a chunk of lap-time deficit. It’s no fun at all,” Wolff said.
“It’s an exercise in humility and it’s going to make us stronger in the end, even though it’s not fun right now.”
That message was echoed by Russell but there are no plans to give up so early into the season.
“We are definitely not out of it but if we don’t manage to find some improvements there is no way we will be fighting for this championship,” Russell said. “We are not giving up. Even if we continue like this for the next five, six, seven or eight races we are still going to be in touching distance and there is no reason we can’t overturn it. We need to see how things look by the time we get halfway through the season. Everything can change.
“I don’t see any reason why we will make any strides forward. We are the third-fastest team at the moment and closer to the fourth than we are to second, so it’s going to be more of the same in the coming races.”
Wolff does not know how long it will take to get the car to where he and his drivers need it to be.
‘Deficits everywhere’
“We are not running the car where we are wanting to run it, therefore it’s very difficult to really assess what the lap time deficit is if were able to run the car lower,” he said.
“I would very much hope that the gap is much closer to what we’ve seen, but there are deficits everywhere.”
Hamilton – who was agonizingly close to a record title and pondered walking away ahead of this season – is also unsure of a timeframe to get back on track.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton drives during the qualifying session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on March 26, 2022. Photo: VCG
“Not much has changed since the last race, it’s only been a few days,” Hamilton said after the race.
“What I know is that today I couldn’t keep up with the Haas at the end, the power they have… they came sling-shotting past me when I overtook Magnussen earlier on in the race. We’ve got a lot of work to do but I know I’ve got a great team, we’ll keep our heads down and try and improve.
“The learnings are that we’re quite a bit off pace-wise and we’ve got a lot of work to do. Right now we’re not fighting for the top step, we’re so far off the guys at the front.
It could always be worse – ask Williams and Aston Martin, the two teams who have no points at all after two races, with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi saying the team has “not started off where we hoped to be” this season.
“The car is not where we want it to be,” was Aston Martin’s new team principal Mike Krack’s message ahead of the Jeddah meet. “The performance is not good enough.”
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll was not happy with the car either.
“I think we’ve just gotta keep working for the next few races,” he said.
It was a similar story for driver Alexander Albon of Williams.
“It is tricky,” Albon said of their car. “When it is in the window, it’s fine, it’s actually a good car to drive. We’ve had moments of that so far, even at the end of the race we were pretty quick, it’s just trying to get it more consistent and predictable really.”
Teammate Latifi crashed out just 14 laps into the Grand Prix, which came after a shocking show in qualifying.
“The rear just let go, it’s unpredictable,” said Latifi. “It’s what we’ve been finding with this car so far, it’s very unpredictable, the balance is all over the place, there’s no secret there. But as the driver, it’s my job to try and get the most out of it and drive it. Two times I’ve put it in the wall and not what I expect from myself.”
“I’m struggling a lot with the balance of the car,” Latifi said. “It’s one thing to just have the pace we’re at, lacking overall downforce, it’s another thing where you’re at and then balance wise it’s all over the pace. There’s where I am.”
He will hope to be somewhere else at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on April 10. As will Hamilton and the Mercedes team.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas team principal Toto Wolff walks through the paddock on the Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 26, 2022. Photo: IC
