“Mercedes don’t seem to know how to do what Red Bull are doing,” said one observer.”
F1 analyst Peter Windsor believes there are currently no indications that Mercedes “have any clue” about how to close the gap to F1 2023’s undefeated Red Bull team.
Mercedes won eight consecutive constructors’ championships between 2014 and 2021, but since the new ground effect regulations went into effect last year, they have been limited to just one victory.
Mercedes has significantly improved its chassis since the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May, but it is still lagging behind Red Bull, which has won all 14 races so far this season.
After Max Verstappen won the most recent Italian GP, he set a record for most consecutive victories (10).
Windsor was ecstatic, saying Red Bull, the current Constructors’ Champions, has put all other teams to shame in 2023 and is the only team that fully comprehends the demands of contemporary Formula 1.
At Monza, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton came in fifth and sixth, respectively.
At the finish line, Hamilton narrowly beat Alex Albon and Lando Norris of Mercedes customer teams Williams and McLaren.
Windsor believes that the fact that Mercedes were happy with their performance shows how far they have fallen in the last two years and that they are still far from being able to compete on a par with Red Bull.
“You’ve got to say, if you’re the factory Mercedes team, the customer teams are uncomfortably close, aren’t they?” he said during a recent YouTube stream.
And it wasn’t all that great when Mercedes had to say after the race [at Monza], “Wow, we were the third-quickest car after Red Bull and Ferrari.
“I mean, who did they beat?
Basically, their customers, which isn’t much to brag about.
“The fact that they are writing home about that just demonstrates the trouble that Mercedes is in, and they don’t seem to have any idea yet how to do what Red Bull are doing, on the surface of it, based on what we’re seeing right now in the raw evidence.
Do they really understand how to run the ride heights at any given circuit given the constraints of some of the weekends with the sprint race?
“They seem to have a clue on how to get more downforce into the car or more downforce out of the car.
“And do they really know what kind of active-ride rate to have on the front and rear springs if they want to make one softer than the other?
Do they really know how to incorporate kerb strike into a car that has the ideal setup?”.
I don’t believe they are aware of everything.
“I don’t think Mercedes has that; if they did, I think they would have assembled it by now, and they’re so up and down.
“They say, ‘Well, we have a very small operating window,’ but what does that mean?
“There’s only one thing you can say: somebody’s not doing a very good job if Red Bull have a huge operating window and Mercedes have a small operating window.
“I’m not saying from the standpoint that it’s acceptable for you to say that, Peter, you try and design a Formula 1 car.
‘.
I’m not saying that.
All I’m trying to say is give Red Bull credit for doing a good job.
More praise for Red Bull because they’re actually doing an incredible job.
“.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin told reporters, including Sam Cooper of PlanetF1 .
com, that Mercedes is “optimistic” about a title challenge in 2024.
Shovlin also denied Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s assertion that the chasing pack is unlikely to overtake Red Bull before the sport’s next significant rule changes in 2026.