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Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 10, 2021 Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff in the team principals press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 10, 2021 Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff in the team principals press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Until the start of the 2021 Formula One season, Mercedes have always had a game plan in hand. The Silver Arrows would start the season off with a searing advantage over rivals and manage to extend it even further by as early as the summer break with persistent updates.
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Consequently, they would use the second half to focus on the subsequent campaign amid a lack of threat over the active season. Meaning, no matter how hard their rivals push in terms of development, they’d struggle to pose a challenge to Mercedes. And, well, the cycle continues into the follow-up season!
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Formula One F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the race REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
But, the 2021 season was definitely the first season since 2014 where Mercedes found themselves under immense pressure from a rival right from very day 1 of the winter testing in Bahrain. Quite unusual isn’t it? Well, Mercedes felt the same too and assigned the blame on the sport’s tweaked aero regulations.
The Brackley outfit felt that the changes to the floor and bargeboard led to a massive setback. And many even alleged that the sport’s intention was partially to end Mercedes’ dream run. But, here’s Toto Wolff finally admitting that it was a mere ‘misjudgment’ that led to Mercedes’ strange performance fall.
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What did the Mercedes F1 boss say?
During an interview with Auto-Motor-Und-Sport, Wolff admitted that they misjudged the height of difference the aero changes were capable of.
Hence, prior to the winter testing, the entire factory at Brackley was quite confident that the W12, hardly different from W11, could withhold rival threats in 2021. But, boy did they get it all wrong!
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Formula One F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton crosses the finish line in second REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
“We thought we could handle the cut in the ground in front of the rear wheels. With the lead we had in 2020, we thought we could compensate for that. We saw it as a kind of challenge. That was a misjudgment. During the test drives, we noticed how much we were left behind. I guess that cost us a second,” Wolff said.
Overall, while Mercedes managed to retain their constructor’s title, Max Verstappen denied them a double-glory by snatching the driver’s title from Lewis Hamilton. So, will the Silver Arrows be able to regain their F1 dominance in 2022?
Read More: Why Do Mercedes Dominate F1?
