I was more than a bit amused to read in this month’s F1 Racing, a confirmation from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that he had executed a cunning plan in deflecting the services of Lewis Hamilton, which manifested into the strategic blunder of the decade.
“He wanted to drive for Red Bull in 2013. It wasn’t the only time he approached us” Horner told F1 Racing. “The McLaren had been very competitive in 2011 and 2012 and I thought it would probably be better for us for him to be at Mercedes than McLaren, so in the event of us not being able to sign him I encouraged Niki Lauda to sign him to weaken McLaren.”
Horner’s reason is textbook Ronald Reagan logic. Allow Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt to transfer United States Huey helicopters and bombs to Iraq in an effort to weaken Iran.
What could possibly go wrong?
To be fair, how could Horner foresee the juggernaut that Mercedes would become despite Ross Brawn playing a surreptitious role in guiding the 2014 engine regulations in Mercedes’ favour? It wasn’t like it had happened before. Double-diffusers are a bit like rainbows really; occasionally they just happen to collide with someone else’s keister.
Like an engineer transfixed by a computer screen jammed with weather data, sometimes it just pays to look up at the transparent fluid pelting your noggin. The signs that Hamilton might just have a decent pony in 2014 were visible in late 2013 when Mark Ellis defected from Red Bull to become Mercedes performance director just as Giles Wood (also formerly at Red Bull) was appointed chief engineer in charge of simulation and development.
History has also shown that McLaren also tend to slip into the odd performance sabbatical during a twenty-four month cycle, or as Mark Webber puts it: “they make the odd sh**box”. Surely Paddy Lowe’s departure from McLaren as Technical Director to join Mercedes would have been slightly more conspicuous than a sign instructing you ‘not to breathe under water’.
Fast forward to March 2015 and Red Bull headed into the competition season with just three wins and a Renault power-plant that had somehow managed to de-evolve and occasionally self-destruct – it’s only saving grace being Honda’s own version of Monty Python’s Four Yorkshiremen act.
Horner’s admission then goes some way to explaining Red Bull’s insistence on acquiring Mercedes engines in 2016 rather than politely requesting them. But just because Horner inadvertently did Lauda a solid by letting Lewis slip through his fingers isn’t exactly the Daimler board’s problem. Furthermore, comparing Mercedes Formula One chief Toto Wolff to a Chinese urinal (which shares his surname) when the deal dematerialised wasn’t going to get him any candy at Merc’s front doorstep.
“I have to be clear”, Lauda told Sky Sports Formula One. “Christian (Horner and Helmut (Marko) wrote us (Mercedes) one letter to say they would like engines. I said ‘yes, but first we have to discuss with Mr Mateschitz’ because Mateschitz, for whatever reason, never liked Mercedes. Then the other thing we discussed, if we would give an engine, we want to grow together. We give an engine because we want the Red Bull young kids driving A-classes.
Despite unfavourable marketing campaigns for the A-Class (remember “Fabuttastic”?), Lauda’s anecdote does raise an obvious question. Why would Mercedes need Red Bull as a youth brand when they already paid £100 million for one in Lewis? It’s probably one of the same questions Mercedes were asking themselves.
Adding insult to Red Bull’s injury, Lewis himself made it clear to the press a week before Monza last year that he didn’t believe supplying Red Bull with Merc units was the most shrewd business decision. While he may have just been toeing the company line, I doubt even the heady life of partying with Rihanna would’ve blunted the recollection of Horner’s brush-off when the boot was on the other foot.
Intriguingly, the 2016 Horner appears to have taken a more relaxed approach to putting the squeeze on the Woking outfit.
“McLaren are a great team, but they shouldn’t be as far back as they are” he added in F1 Racing.
One wonders if Christian had his Mobile Strike app enabled when he made that comment.
anon
Guest
"Possibly, but in 2003 Ferrari and Bridgestone protested the Michelin tyres on the Willams on the grounds that they warped beyond the maximum tread width during a race – even though tread widths were only measured before a race. The FIA revised the rule immediately, even though they could’ve virtually sat on their hands and curtailed Ferrari’s dominance" Michelin was effectively exploiting a loophole in the rules. They were designed to wear away so that there would be a greater contact patch on the road. "even though tread widths were only measured before a race" No conspiracy. Michelin had exploited a loophole. Michelin teams didn't have points docked since it was a grey area in the rules. I think Bridgestone and Ferrari hadn't pursued it earlier because in 2002 Ferrari had a great advantage over the field. In 2003, the Williams and McLaren was as quick as the Ferrari and the Michelin had become the superior tyre.
Trent Price
Roar Guru
Possibly, but in 2003 Ferrari and Bridgestone protested the Michelin tyres on the Willams on the grounds that they warped beyond the maximum tread width during a race - even though tread widths were only measured before a race. The FIA revised the rule immediately, even though they could've virtually sat on their hands and curtailed Ferrari's dominance.
anon
Guest
It's not a blunder. As we have seen, Hamilton who was long touted as the best over one lap is only marginally faster than Rosberg over one lap. Rosberg possesses little to no race craft. People love to deride Mark Webber, but he blew Rosberg away when they were teammates in 2006 and at least he possessed the race craft to go head to head with Vettel. Rosberg makes blunders time and again when he has Hamilton chasing him down. Forget wheel to wheel racing. He become skittish. Season 2016 is a write off. Mercedes will cruise to victory. The FIA is afraid to upset them otherwise they will threaten to leave the sport. When Ferrari were winning championships in the 2000's the FIA tried to curtail their dominance with regulation changes after 2002 and 2004. When Red Bull were winning championships the FIA tried to curtail their dominance by outlawing their innovations such as blown diffusers, flexible front wings. Renault had their mass damper banned. McLaren had their f-duct banned. All these innovations were introduced at a time when he V8 engine was effectively homologated and all development was through aerodynamic innovations. Mercedes on the other, hasn't had any of their engine related dominance curtailed over the last two seasons. We are in an era now where engine innovation is as important or more important than aerodynamic innovations. Yet, the FIA has done nothing to curtail their advantages. It feels like they are gifting Mercedes these easy championships so they stay in the sport for many years.