Mercedes may have failed to win or meet the expectations this year. Yet, they did not fail to become a threat to the rivals, including Red Bull, for the 2023 championship. The Silver Arrows still has Lewis Hamilton, who is going to lead the team into the 2023 Title Contention.
Like this year, Mercedes never had to settle for just one win with a third position in the constructor’s championship previously. Unfortunately, the end of the turbo hybrid era took away all the lucks from the team. With the new regulations of the ground floor effect, Mercedes just failed to adopt the changes that resulted in porpoising issues. In the meantime, the 2022 new FIA regulations gave Red Bull a chance to become the strongest, and they succeeded in it.
The team was doing so well that people announced it as the beginning of Red Bull’s domination in Formula One. Max Verstappen alone won 15 races, and with Sergio Perez’s two GP win, Red Bull claimed the constructor’s champion in Austin with three races remaining. But will they be able to win the next season also? Helmut Marko doubts.
Red Bull’s chief advisor, Helmut Marko, believes that Mercedes will come back next year. They will come back stronger, and this is a threat to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. In an interview with Sport Bild, Helmut said, “Ferrari is strong, but Mercedes will be stronger as a whole. Especially with a driver like Lewis Hamilton.” Despite the fact that Ferrari challenged Red Bull throughout the entire 2022, Helmut thinks Ferrari will be strong but weaker than the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes Has The Top Driver In Lewis Hamilton! A Threat To Red Bull
Initially in the season, Ferrari made four wins, while Red Bull was struggling with the car’s heavy weight. But soon after Silverstone, the Austrian team figured out the problems and solved them after the fifth race of the season. And since then, Red Bull has never lost any Grand Prix, except the one in Brazil.
Ferrari did very well this season. With C square, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz, the team reignited the Scuderia hope for a championship that was last claimed in 2008. But in the middle of the season, when the team demanded an upgrade, Ferrari could not provide it because the team had already reached the cost cap budget of $140 million. Charles Leclerc yet managed to spectacularly replace Sergio Perez from the second position in the driver’s standings.
Sadly, the seven-time world champion could not even secure a position under the top-5 list of drivers. And, yet, he is a threat to Red Bull and not Leclerc. This is because Helmut Marko believes that teh Briton is still a top driver. Indeed, Ferrari also does have a good drive as Charles, but he do mistakes.
The way Mercedes won the Brazilian Grand Prix with a one-two finish proved how they still have the power that they can regain in 2023. Marko said, “Mercedes is not yet at teh eye level, but they definitely had more in the wind tunnel to develop the car.”
