Mercedes had hegemony on the F1 grid from 2014 to 2020. Later in 2021, they fell from power, and Red Bull has been consecutively dominating Formula One for two years. The last season in 2022 was horrible for the team because they managed to win only a single race in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The Silver Arrows suffered due to the poor condition of the W13 car. However, the engineers of the Mercedes team started to work on the car extensively, and halfway to the 2022 season, the car got a little better.
That’s what helped them win the race in Brazil. But it was too late to climb up the points table. So, this failure has inspired the whole team, starting with the engineers, to build a perfect fast car to help the drivers retain their dominance of the F1 grid. Mercedes team and fans will expect the new W14 car to help the racers win races from the very beginning of the season.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said, “I hope the car is as fast as it looks.” The seven-time champion, Lewis Hamilton, said, “I love the new look of the car as it suggests that we mean business.” The young English driver of Mercedes mentioned, “I am very happy for the team as they have worked really hard to fix the problems we were facing last season. Hopefully, the W14 car is sans those problems found in the W13 car.”
Why Helmut Marko Wants Mercedes To Comeback Strong?
Other than the Mercedes folks, the rival team is also well aware of the progress of their car. The advisor of the Austrian F1 team, Helmut Marko, feels it is essential that the Mercedes team get stronger again. The head of the driver development program of Red Bull suggests that Formula One is getting bigger every year, especially in Austria.
On the other hand, in Germany, which has a rich history in F1, the popularity might have decreased a bit. Since 2019 there has not been a Grand Prix scheduled in the Formula One Calendar. Hockenheim was a favorite Grand Prix event during the glorious days of Michael Schumacher. Later it returned to the status of a mega event during the prime time of Sebastian Vettel and his four years championship run. Then Mercedes came into power, which helped maintain a balance in popularity among German fans. However, the problem was the financial turmoil that Hockenheim had to go through. It made the mega event of the German Grand Prix very difficult.
Why Do The German F1 Fans Look Up To The Silver Arrows?
With time Hockenheim couldn’t host the Grand Prix anymore. The last time in 2019 was possible only because of the sponsorship attachment to Mercedes. Experts and fans comment on the exclusion of the German Grand Prix as “nothing short of a tragedy.” Besides the financial struggle, there is another pivotal reason for the decrease in F1 popularity in Germany. It is the lack of German drivers in the F1 circuit. Norbert Haug, a former Mercedes boss, gave the stats. As he mentioned, “there were seven German drivers in F1 in 2010, but today there are two. Nico Hulkenberg is in a second-rate team.”
Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher is a third driver but at least in one of the powerhouses. According to Helmut Marko, the comeback of Mercedes as a title contender may help revive the F1 connection with Germany. In the upcoming 2023 season, there is an addition to the F1 venue list. As Las Vegas is a new entry. From 22 races, it has now become a season of 23 Grands Prix. It will even return to Qatar in the new season. The CEO of Formula One, Stefano Domenicali, cited the criteria of reentry of the German Grand Prix. It has to be a mutual financial agreement. It has to be profitable for all the parties that are involved. When they can come to an agreement, the race will return to Germany.
