P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Damon Hill has questioned whether Mercedes’ aerodynamics department is “missing a trick” as the team looks to close the gap to runaway F1 champions Red Bull.
Since their intense battle for the 2021 title, Red Bull has dominated Formula 1’s new era, winning consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ championships, while Mercedes has struggled, with only one victory in 2022 due to a flawed car design. Mercedes plans to undergo a fundamental design overhaul for 2024 in hopes of closing the gap with Red Bull, but doubts remain about their understanding of the current ground-effect based aerodynamic regulations. Former champion Damon Hill suggests that Mercedes’ previous dominance was largely due to their superior power unit and different aerodynamics compared to Red Bull. Additionally, they have lost several key aerodynamic personnel to other teams. McLaren and Aston Martin, both customer teams of Mercedes, have outperformed them recently, raising questions about Mercedes’ ability to turn their situation around. However, there is still faith that their experience and knowledge will allow them to improve over the winter, although Red Bull’s strong performance also leaves uncertainties about Mercedes’ future performance.
Forrás: Crash