There aren’t many teams in the world that have had a more dominant stretch than Mercedes has had in the last decade. They were somewhat of a dynasty, forging the greatest F1 driver of all time along the way in Lewis Hamilton.
But, even dynasties come to an end eventually. Many think that should have continued in 2021 with Lewis Hamilton losing the final race of the season to Max Verstappen. It was unfortunately for them the last day they could call themselves the best constructor in the world. The next two years were not great for the team, as Red Bull and Verstappen capitalized on Mercedes’ downfall.
The start of the 2024 season looked like it would be even worse for Mercedes as neither Hamilton nor George Russell could compete near the top, and the team suddenly found themselves as more of a midfield team than a contender. Then, Montreal happened.
With a simple, but not really, change in the front wing, Mercedes found themselves with a driver in pole position. Sure, he may have bottled it and didn’t get the win, but Russell and Hamilton battled for a podium all race, and Russell eventually came out with one.
Mercedes win last two races
Instead of Ferrari being the team that made the jump to compete with Red Bull and McLaren, it was Mercedes. They would go on to win in Austria with Russell “picking up the pieces” of Verstappen and Lando Norris crashing. Sure, the win was handed to him, but it was a win nonetheless. It was one they wouldn’t have been in position for a few months ago.
And now, after Silverstone, it’s fair to say that Mercedes is back. Hamilton has won his first race in nearly two years, and the silver arrows are a force to be reckoned with as Red Bull and McLaren continue to battle every race.
This sudden jump is not one that Mercedes expected, but the development is taking them back to the old days – the days of the dynasty.
“Suddenly, everything that didn’t make sense made sense,” team boss Toto Wolff said recently. “And the results of development are like in the old days. We are finding performance, we are putting it on the car, and it translates into lap time. That wasn’t the case for the last two years. Honestly, we didn’t think it would be Silverstone, because more of the stuff [upgrades] we were putting on the car, we were more expecting Budapest or Spa.
Being ahead of development is never a bad thing. look at McLaren, who did not think they would have a chance to win in Miami earlier this season, but, they did. Now, they are battling for a win every race with both drivers, really. And Mercedes have found themselves two wins during a season where it looked like they would get none.
The good news is Mercedes is far from done.
