Will the shocking F1 championship drama be repeated? Tensions still exist – the expert explains why the speeches at the Mercedes camp should not be listened to

The F1 season kicks off this weekend with the Bahrain race. Saturday’s time trials and Sunday’s race will be followed on ‘s website from time to time, as usual.

The Formula 1 series is experiencing a significant upswing globally. Last season, F1 Series viewership rose four percent over the entire season. In the US, viewer numbers increased By motorsport (you switch to another service) as much as 58 percent.

And no wonder, given the kind of drama that the 2021 season entailed. It all culminated in the scandalous competition in Abu Dhabi, which was followed by nearly 110 million spectators.

In the final race, the decisions of which the Mercedes team left in vain two protests, Red Bull Max Verstappen boat Lewis Hamilton championship tube. The Dutchman Verstappen, 24, celebrated his first world championship after passing Hamilton, 37, in the final round of the race and seven in the season.

However, Mercedes took the manufacturers championship in its name for the eighth time in a row.

With all this in mind, and given the numerous rule changes promising smoother racing, there is an exceptional buzz under the new F1 season.

Although the rules have been broken and the cars have gone through a transformation, most likely Mercedes and Red Bull, Hamilton and Verstappen are still fighting for the championship.

Hamilton made a deal last summer that will keep him with Mercedes until the end of the 2023 season. Verstappen, for his part, signed a giant contract for the 2028 season that he will earn According to ESPN (switching to another service) EUR 50 million for the period, the same as ESPN estimates Hamilton’s annual earnings.

The F1 teams got to test their cars during the season in Barcelona and Bahrain. The F1 season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain, the Sakhir Desert.

At the end of the tests in Bahrain, Verstappen pounded the fastest lap time, more than half a second apart, to show strength.

The story continues after the graphics.

It is difficult to draw conclusions from the F1 tests. The first real indications of momentum are seen in the first times.

This year, due to the radical changes in cars, it is even more useless to make sharp assumptions about the tests, says ‘s F1 expert Jukka Mildh.

Mercedes didn’t show a strange pace in the tests last year either, but Hamilton won three of the first four races of the 2021 season.

– The tests try so many different things and solutions. As a result, it is difficult to judge the performance of Red Bull, for example. Of course, they seem to have a strong vibe about the World Drivers Championship and have been very successful in preparing for the season compared to many previous seasons.

In any case, Mildh believes Red Bull’s organization will be even stronger this season. One big factor is that Red Bull still managed to keep Honda as its engine supplier, despite the news of the Japanese manufacturer’s withdrawal last season.

– It was their luck and accelerated the development of the car.

The fastest lap in the tests run by Verstappen says Red Bull will reach its top speeds last season. It doesn’t say much about anything else, like reliability.

According to Mildh, getting the fastest time to complete the tests could be purely Red Bull’s PR, or the team wanted to give Verstappen confidence with the new RB18 going game.

How can Mercedes respond to Red Bull? The information has not just leaked.

– All the information that has come has been mysterious. Both problems and performance are covered up, Mildh notes.

However, Mercedes has already attracted attention with its technical solutions. One of the special features of the W13 seems to be the particularly small size of the side pontoons. The solutions aim to reduce air resistance and enhance the ground effect.

Hamilton and the team manager Toto Wolff have given faint insights into Mercedes’ performance based on tests, but Mildh isn’t banging on their ears.

– Hamilton says that there is no winner for them, at least in the early part of the season, but I don’t think that’s true. Mercedes has a strong stable and organization. Changes to the rules have long been known. Strong teams accustomed to winning have certainly used their time wisely to prepare for change, Mildh believes.

One interesting aspect is that the configuration of the second tip stable changed. Valtteri Bottaswith whom Hamilton got along perfectly, passed to Alfa Romeo.

The farm in Bottas is now run by a Hamilton countryman, a 24-year-old British man George Russell. Russell drove the previous three seasons at Williams, but in the 2020 season, it was Bahrain. That’s when Russell got to Mercedes to treat Hamilton, who had a corona infection.

Instead, the Mexican will continue as Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez32.

According to Mildh, it took Perez too long last season to get to you with his car. Stronger support is now needed from Perez, who has now been criticized, in the championship battle of both drivers and manufacturers.

Why are these two teams supposedly competing for the championship, even though the cars and rules have changed? Wouldn’t there be a place of attack in other stables now?

– It would be, but it belongs to this sport that masters can be masters for a long time. When it comes to winning, it affects the way the team works, the spirit, and the faith on the part of the owners. The stables are allowed to run full, and there is no political quarrel, Mildh replies.

According to Mildh, these things have been clear to Red Bull for a long time and Mercedes has also simplified its management and ownership structure. Many other stables have to struggle with their holdings and finances.

According to Mildh, the strength of the duo is also based on the fact that Mercedes and Red Bull are factory stables and have their own engines. Of course, Mercedes’s engines are also used by Aston Martin, Williams and McLaren, Honda’s engines are also driven by Red Bull’s second stable AlphaTauri.

Last season in F1, the cost ceiling limited the use of the teams ’money to $ 145 million. For this period, the cost ceiling decreased to 140 million, or about 128 million euros. However, not everything costs are included, such as driver fees and marketing.

With strong number one stables, at least for Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, the cost ceiling is certainly fully operational. That, according to Mildh, is the ideal amount that the stables should strive for.

For example, the owners of Mercedes are committed to the stable on a long-term basis, and the stable can be relied on to ensure that the cost ceiling is used to the maximum in the period 2023 as well.

– Money makes you calm. If you know the budget is in place, it allows you to do things more systematically, Mildh describes.

Last season, Ferrari was third in the manufacturers ’scores and McLaren was fourth. Now, based on winter tests, Ferrari showed quite a strong vibe, while McLaren had enough technical troubles.

Mildh raises to AlphaTaur, Red Bull’s runner-up in third place. Last season, AlphaTauri was sixth on the manufacturers table. In addition to the above, Alpine wedged in front of it.

– AlphaTaurin Pierre Gaslyn the screens have been significant and the tests went okay, Mildh points out.

Driving in the Red Bull stables since 2017, Gasly, 26, won the first GP of his career in the 2020 season in Monza. Last season, he was third at best.

– McLaren would now have good resources at its disposal and very good drivers. Especially Lando Norris has punched himself through, Mildh continues.

McLaren’s development last season even started to be phenomenal, says Mildh. However, the problems with the tests raise the question of whether McLaren has been able to respond appropriately to the rule changes and how significant the technical concerns of the stable are.

Ferrari was able to drive strong tests both in terms of number of laps and lap times. In addition, Mildh praises the Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc co-op.

– It would be time for Ferrari to rise to the top, because it is expected that the moon will rise. This could be the opportunity.

Below you will also find the stables / drivers for the 2022 season and the race schedule.