McMika98 wrote: ↑04 Mar 2023, 08:38
The fact is Merc dominated turbo hybrid era because they had an engine delta for almost 8 years but they dropped the ball massively and now are behind some manufacturers. They could stick the biggest front and rear wing and not worry of top speed deficit.
This era of ground effect with cost cap has exposed the team. Granted they lost many many engineers, but the core team seems to be clueless. I don't know if James Allison is still there but he is not featured anywhere.
Having said all of the above I still think the car is still fast on certain tracks and come quali and race when the bags come off they will be above the midfield just not close to Redbull.
It's no brainer that the PU advantage carried them for a very long time. With the departure of Andy Cowell, that department is also appears to be weak now. With E10 coming into picture, Mercedes suddenly became 3rd best PU on the grid. With a PU that is, at best, on par with others or potentially second best and a weak aero philosophy, they are struggling to move beyond 3rd. The more time they spend in this spiral, regardless of the talented people in their ranks, the more they weaken. George should befriend Lawrence Stroll before Lando does.