BULLISH LAUDA PUTS UP FIGHT
Mercedes power struggle could be a game-changer
WHAT was Niki Lauda, the Mercedes chairman, doing in the Red Bull motorhome as they served Prosecco and brunch yesterday? The answer relates to the schism that may end the world domination of Lewis Hamilton’s team. First, the agenda: Lauda, it seems, wants Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines from 2017.
Now, the subtext: Lauda and the head of Mercedes motorsport Toto Wolff have fallen out so badly that their row — with engines being a central contention — could end up with just one man left standing at the head of the team. Lauda, 66, has indicated privately that he is considering quitting in any event following tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last of the season.
He could consider his work done having delivered four world titles in two years — in the constructors’ and drivers’ championships — to concentrate on his TV work with German station, RTL.
However, the motor racing legend may instead stay on to put right what he sees as a wrong.
This relates to a deal Lauda thought he had struck with Dietrich Mateschitz, the super-rich founder of the soft drinks company, when the pair shook hands at the end of a meeting in July. Mercedes would sell their engines to Red Bull from next season. But Lauda’s intentions came to nothing, as Wolff persuaded the Mercedes board in Stuttgart that it made no sporting sense to help Red Bull, who were then about to split from their under-performing suppliers Renault.
Was it a case of Lauda ( right) seeing the bigger picture by saving Red Bull’s possible exit from the sport? Or was it suicidal, given Red Bull’s potential? Either way, the characters and achievements of the two Mercedes protagonists have a bearing on the nature of the dispute. Lauda is a legend who won three titles despite nearly burning to death in his Ferrari almost 40 years ago. He is one of the few men who does not give a damn about anything.
His fellow Austrian, Wolff, 43, is a Formula One arriviste. He bought into Mercedes in 2013. Soon after Wolff arrived, Ross Brawn, mastermind of the team’s success, was marginalised. Wolff was meant to share the leadership with Paddy Lowe, the technical director, but he soon morphed into the outright boss.
But for all the glory of the last few years, several paddock observers wonder how he will fare when the Brawn-inspired success wears off.
If Lauda were mischievous, he could make it his final act to oversee the engines-to-Red-Bull deal and wave goodbye, taking out his 10 per cent interest in the team. Wolff has 30 per cent. The dispute could severely destabilise Mercedes in the long run, but it will take some time for the team’s dominance to drip away. They were predictably fastest in practice yesterday, Hamilton setting the pace in the morning, Nico Rosberg quickest in the afternoon.