Good day all.
Theses last 2 races has confirmed a theory I have. Mercedes were ahead of all teams for developing this years car, but late rule changes regarding the floor caught them off guard a bit. So what I believe they did was develop the car as best as they could up to winter testing. They then entered races knowing they wouldn't be as competitive as Redbull. Plus with the cost cap Mercedes wants to ensure that they are well within that, just as how they have been well with the engines per season limitations. That Is why they pulled out of wet weather tire test and don't mind Redbull getting some of their staff to help develop their engine making arm. Not having to reshuffle and or layoff those staff throughout the Mercedes auto empire is a dream come true for Toto and other senior Mercedes management big heads.
With that in mind they held off car development in terms off adding bits to the car. Changed the team mindset to that of an Indycar team where you won't be able to throw hardware on the car as you like to solve aero efficiency/deficiency issues every few races. So Mercedes are forcing themselves to learn how to resolve or mitigate those issues as best as they can until the parts come. which may be as much as 6 or seven races down the line. Also any knowledge gained is being fed into the cfd and or wind tunnel program so that when the parts do come they are that much better. This allows them to move forward with 2022 car development while efficient using what little time they have left for 2021 car development. This approach has only caused them to have at most a 7 tenths and 44 points deficit to nearest competitor which is a remarkable achievement IMHO.
Also with the restriction on engine development this year, it allowed Mercedes to compare their planned 2021 engine development with Honda's advanced from 2022 to 2021 engine development and so far based on the races Mercedes must be very happy that their 2021 engine is very competitive with what Honda had planned for 2022. However being the aggressive forward planning unit that Mercedes has been since their return to F1 I believe they have somehow unlocked a way to unleash engine performance with upgrading parts during the season so their 2nd and 3rd engines will be more powerful and deliver power better and more efficiently than the 1st engine of the 2021 season.