Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had been champion for a humungous long. He ruled the turbo-hybrid era due to the superior Mercedes cars back in those days. But this time, it is their rival’s time to dominate. Red Bull, with its superior car, RB19, is enjoying their hegemony on the F1 grid. On the other hand, new competitors are rising to take the place of Mercedes since the cost cap era began. It has been a tough transition for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in a matter of a couple of years.
Back in 2021, Mercedes won their eighth constructor title in a row. But Lewis Hamilton could not get to his eighth title in 2021 after narrowly losing to Max Verstappen. However, Mercedes has not been primarily focusing on beating Red Bull as of yet but holding on the second place. They want to keep Aston Martin and Ferrari away. But what about new threats in McLaren?
British GP Might Signify Lewis Hamilton Handing Over Baton To Lando Norris
At the home circuit of Mercedes in Silverstone, McLaren’s Lando Norris beat the veteran Lewis Hamilton to finish at P2. It was a tough but exciting competition between the veteran and the young British drivers. According to Martin Brundle of Sky Sports, the race was symbolic in the sense that, seemingly, Hamilton was handing over the baton to Norris to take forward British racing culture. Brundle added that Hamilton was aggressive yet controlled in Silverstone. However, Lando blocked Lewis perfectly. The youngster did not have to adopt any dirty racing tricks. Lewis Hamilton was unable to beat Lando Norris on soft tyres after the safety car restart.
Norris also held on to his place even on hard tyres as it eventually came up to temperatures. On top of that, it took 24 years for the crowd at Silverstone to witness two British drivers on the podium. Indeed, it was a thrilling finish to the British Grand Prix this year. Moreover, Lando Norris was only 3.7 seconds slower than Max Verstappen. That’s the closest any driver came close to the Dutchman this year. As Lewis Hamilton says, the credit goes to McLaren’s copy of Red Bull’s car’s design. Moreover, at the beginning of the season, Hamilton mentioned that RB19 was the fastest car he had ever seen. Even when Mercedes used to dominate the grid, their car was in no way near the RB19. Hence, Lando Norris did an excellent job of getting as close as 3.7 seconds.
Mercedes Has New Threats Ahead In Form Of McLaren Along With Aston Martin
Since 2022, Mercedes has fallen from the top to find itself struggling to maintain its position in second place. On the other hand, new competitors like Aston Martin and McLaren have emerged to challenge Mercedes to make them fall further down. Sir Lewis Hamilton is struggling in fourth place currently. They are still not able to get a victory out of any of the ten races so far.
Even after testing new upgrades in Monaco and the British Grand Prix, Hamilton had to be happy with a P3 finish. Albeit, the seven-time champion finished at P2 twice this season, in Melbourne, Australia, and Barcelona, Spain. On the other hand, Max Verstappen has gone far ahead of everybody winning eight but six consecutively so far.
