The judgment on the Mercedes 2021 is less simple than it appears. Okay, the Brackley team has once again won the constructors ‘classification and confirmed itself as the tyrant of the hybrid era, but the drivers’ title – the big booty – reigns in Max Verstappen’s house, and not in the very rich showcase of Lewis Hamilton. To solve the problem, we had to go beyond the results, and see from which positions Mercedes and Red Bull were starting at the beginning of the year.
Brackley’s team presented itself with all the favors of the prediction, to the point that 2021 should have been the year of the legend, the natural corollary of the superiority shown in the first seven years of the hybrid era. And instead the W12 was born with a few too many problems: in the first tests it had no stability at the rear and the initial victories put the dust under the carpet. Red Bull was a superior car for long stretches of the championship, and only at the end of the season did the reigning champions come back to the rescue, thanks also to the thrust of the power unit which in Brazil allowed Hamilton to win the race even starting from the last place in the Sprint Qualification.
Mercedes was there, worked on the engine and set-up to recover the imbalances also due to the regulatory changes. And therefore the vote is high. In our opinion, however, Red Bull was the best, and therefore deserves something more, also considering the gap it had to make up for in the winter. In addition, too many have thought of taking something away from Mercedes strategic mistakes over the course of the year: scenes such as Hamilton’s solitary departure for Hungary or theundercut sensationally failed in Monte-Carlo against Pierre Gasly (who also cost the position on Sebastian Vettel) are photographs of the season. As are the qualifications in Sochi, in which Lewis and the box are beaten on time and in the choices by Norris, Sainz and Russell, who have the right intuition and turn to the soft, forcing Lewis to a run-up race. How not to mention, then, the Valtteri Bottas die scene in Monte-Carlo and the choice to announce George Russell for 2022 in full fight-world, giving a further blow to the Finn. In short, we could have done better, and Red Bull succeeded, taking what interested them thanks also to a season finale that had too many dark points. But the result of the track is this: Mercedes has accepted it and now it has to chase it.
Mercedes, 613.5 points. 1st place. Average: 27.89 points. In 2020: 1st place
Rating: 8½ | Semi-self-authorized
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