Mercedes must stop meddling

Hamilton broke free from McLaren when Ron Dennis became too controlling — F1’s best driver must be allowed to just race Sunday, 6am, Sky Sports F1 (Melbourne) GET A GRIP:

Daniel Ricciardo Max Verstappen

Johnny’s Max said he thought Red Bull’s car wasn’t quite a race winner yet but that could just be pre-season sandbagging. They’re third in the pecking order right now but such is their in-season development that could all change. pursue his appetite for those celebrity A-list bashes. But elements of control have crept in and that’s dangerous.

And another facet in all this is his new team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who’s quick and has a lot of believers at his old team, Williams. But the interesting aspect is that Bottas was managed for a long time by Toto Wolff, adding a further dimension potentially in the Lewis-Mercedes dynamic for the season.

I know Lewis didn’t win the title last year but I genuinely think he’s yet to reach his peak. You only have to dissect his drives at the end of last season. He was battling to get back on an even keel with Nico in the title race and he was in a class of his own.

The trick is to continue that momentum and it’s even more pertinent than in seasons past. For me, it has echoes of Jenson Button and the 2009 World Championship, when he won five of the opening six races.

Then his team-mate and the Red Bulls caught up and, from that point, it was about holding on to that lead, which he did. Lewis and Mercedes know that the chasing pack are closer than ever. For now, Mercedes still have the edge, while for Ferrari and Red Bull I think there will

This year’s cars will be up to five seconds a lap quicker than the 2016 machinery at the behest of the drivers With more grip, drivers can brake later and accelerate earlier, meaning up to 6Gs in a corner The cars have been widened to two metres,...

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