Reigning Formula One world champions Mercedes AMG find themselves in an unfamiliar position as the underdogs, coming out of a Monaco Grand Prix weekend which saw neither car on its prestigious podium for the first time since 2011.
Title contender Lewis Hamilton struggled for the balance of the weekend, having not been able to get his car out of Q2 in qualifying and ended up racing only to seventh from thirteenth – on a circuit that boasts little overtaking.
Valtteri Bottas in the sister car started third on the grid behind the dominant Ferraris, though was usurped in the pit-stops by Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull. From there, the Finn lacked the necessary pace to recover that lost position and spent the remainder of the race in defence against Max Verstappen.
The Silver Arrows have enjoyed an unprecedented run of success since the beginning of the sport’s hybrid era in 2014, until now when Ferrari have finally got a car that can best that of the Brackley effort.
Whilst not conceding any of its inherent pace, the Mercedes W08 EQ Power+ appears a more difficult steed to master, especially with getting the newly widened Pirelli tyres into the optimal operating window being a more complex task for the champions.
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“You can say there is certain DNA in a car, and I think we have proved our car can go very quick in qualifying and in the race,” elaborated Mercedes AMG boss Toto Wolff at the Monaco Grand Prix.
“But it seems to be more a bit of a diva to get it into the right window.
“We’ve had it in Singapore for different reasons, but this is another one. It’s the second weekend that comes into my mind after three years or four years where we’ve struggled really badly from the get-go, from FP2, with set-up.”
The seismic shift in Formula One’s regulations to favour aerodynamics and mechanical grip in 2017 have now exposed flaws within the mighty Mercedes AMG, though they cannot be written off as far as the championship is concerned.
It does put the outfit under greater pressure to continue their search for solutions, as the development war rages on between the championship rivals.
The addition of James Allison to their engineering line-up mitigates the loss of Paddy Lowe to Williams and this is where the former’s genius will be required.
As stated by this writer in the pre-season, 2017 will be a year to define the legacy of Mercedes AMG in Formula One.
Despite all the success that they’ve attained, their most endearing challenge remains as to whether they can transition their winning ways into a completely different ruleset of the sport.
Though perhaps the challenge itself was underestimated, not knowing where the potential of Ferrari lay. Now six races into the season and three wins apiece shared by both marques, the ball is firmly in the court of the Silver kings to strike back.
Both Hamilton and Bottas are capable race winners, though one weakness which was already highlighted by Wolff, is the lack of engineering input which their reigning driver’s world champion and retiree Nico Rosberg was heavily involved with.
“Nico played a very important role in the development of the team,” added the Austrian.
“If one had a bad day and couldn’t find the direction of the car, the other one would do and then eventually they would help each other indirectly. And he had an engineering-like attitude that helped us also in the development. So that is missed.
“But I think we found the best guy out there to step into his shoes. Valtteri is very rational, he is intelligent, he has a lot of experience, more than 80 races in F1, and he has shown he has pace.”
As arbitrary as that maybe for some, it may prove a pivotal factor in deciding the title outcome, as championship leader Sebastian Vettel is known for his meticulous engineering prowess – as well as now his strategic thinking during races.
Heading into the next round of the championship in Canada, the expectation will be for Mercedes AMG to be firing at a venue at which Hamilton is a five-time winner.
The Briton will arrive in Montreal with the equivalent of a race win’s worth of points in deficit to Vettel, while in the constructor’s standings there is a 17-point buffer between Ferrari and the Silver Arrows.
It’s worth reiterating, that if Mercedes AMG win the championship in 2017 from the unfamiliar position that they are presently and with a car that is not the out-in-out best on the grid – there’ll be no denying the greatness of this outfit.
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