Picture Credits: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
Sir Lewis Hamilton claimed his first podium of the season for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in Australia during the third round of the 2023 F1 season. In an incident filled race which featured a record breaking three red flags, the popular Brit crossed the finish line in second place behind race winner Max Verstappen. Team boss Toto Wolff commented afterwards that his team has taken a step in the right direction but admitted that there is still a large gap between Mercedes’ W14 and Red Bull Racing’s RB19 due to the ‘straight-line speed advantage with the DRS open that is just mind-boggling.’
Qualifying had already been a successful outing the previous day for Mercedes as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton secured second and third on the grid. Unsurprisingly, both drivers were confident about race day and when George Russell got the leap on Max Verstappen to lead the race before Turn 3, many wondered if a first win of 2023 would follow. However, strategy, red flags and many other incidents prevented this – none more so than Russell’s lap 17 retirement when his power unit failed.
Meanwhile, George Russell’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, managed to keep two-time F1 Drivers’ Champion Fernando Alonso at bay throughout Sunday’s race to score his 192nd top-three finish in Formula One – his 10th at Albert Park. However, truth be told, P2 was the best Mercedes could hope for without reliability issues for Max Verstappen due to the synergy between the Dutchman and his RB19 at present.
Even when Lewis Hamilton found himself leading Sunday’s Grand Prix, it was only a matter of time before Max Verstappen would breeze past him and so it proved to be. On Lap 12, with DRS open, Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton around the outside on the approach to Turn 9 and his pace was such that the Dutchman was already over two seconds ahead of the seven-time F1 Drivers’ Champion by the next lap.
Having seen his driver overtaken by Max Verstappen in 2023 yet again – due to a DRS advantage – Toto Wolff told the media post-race how impressed he was by his rivals: “[Red Bull] have a straight-line speed advantage with the DRS open that is just mind-boggling. But this is meritocracy, this is sport and if you have a car that is that quick on a straight, it is up to us to sort this out and find tools in order to have that same straight-line performance.”
This is not the first time that the Mercedes maestro has referred to a meritocracy during the 2023 F1 season as Toto Wolff said post-race in Jeddah: “We have had those years where we were as strong, but it is a meritocracy. We shouldn’t talk it down because I remember hearing voices like that between 2014 and 2020. What makes the sport so special is that you need to work hard to win, and you deserve it, and that is matter of fact. Even if it is not great for the show that the same guys win all the time, it is because they have done a good job and we haven’t.”
Mercedes fans will no doubt be encouraged for the season ahead after seeing both of the team’s drivers back battling at the front in Melbourne. Toto Wolff though was quick to highlight the fact that his team’s performance could very well be track-specific. He told media that he thought the layout of the Albert Park Circuit “was very much an advantage for us” before explaining where this assumption came from.
“Our car lacks a little bit of performance at the rear end and that track definitely helped us. So, that’s making us look a little bit better than we should be, but we know where the weaknesses are, and we just need to sort them out,”
Sunday’s performance does give Mercedes a lot to work with and also belief in what their package has within it. Wolff explained that they are continuing to learn about the W14 and believes in time he will be able to challenge the leaders but there are still more questions than answers at the moment.
“Is this where our baseline needs to be? I’m not sure. I think we maximised what we have. I think it was good to see we were racing Ferrari and Aston Martin, and we just need to consolidate that. And the more we learn about the car, and bring the upgrade packages, we can challenge the leaders more,” Toto Wolff told media in the Melbourne paddock.
Mercedes dominated the turbo hybrid era and claimed 8 consecutive F1 Constructors’ Championships in the process between 2014 and 2021. Having seen Red Bull Racing take the title from them in 2022 the Silver Arrows now has the Milton Keynes based racing outfit back in their sights and are not one to shy away from a challenge.
With an extended break of on-track action due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, Mercedes now has almost four weeks to explore the W14 before it is navigating the streets of Baku at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With work continuing at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth expectation will be high of narrowing the gap to those in front. However, one can be sure that all other teams have the same ambition and Red Bull Racing will be in no mood to rest on their laurels either.
