MERCEDES VS. MERCEDES THE STORY OF F1 SEASON
Here is a recap of the first six races of the Formula One championship to bring you up to speed for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. The story so far has been Mercedes vs. Mercedes, with one notable asterisk marked in scarlet, writes Walter Buchignani.
AUSTRALIA (MARCH 15)
Podium: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
The main question coming into Melbourne was whether the Mercedes powerhouse was going to pick up where it left off last season, when teammates Hamilton and Rosberg accounted for 16 wins in 19 races, including 11 one-two finishes.
The short answer, to the anguish of what is politely described as the competition, was an emphatic yes, with defending champion Hamilton dominating the weekend by earning both the pole position and the victory at the Albert Park Circuit, and Rosberg taking runner-up honours.
The result came as little surprise to anyone who had been paying attention. The 2015 season ushered few changes in the rules of the game and specifications of the cars, so a continuation of Mercedes dominance was expected and telegraphed during winter testing.
If there was a surprise, it was the return to form of sorts for Ferrari. F1’s winningest franchise has not looked the part in recent history, scoring no wins and just two podiums all of last season. So Vettel’s third-place finish in his Prancing Horse debut raised some eyebrows.
So did Rosberg’s post-race comments, when he indicated he welcomed the new-found competition from the red cars, saying “it would be good if they could come a bit closer” — to which Vettel responded: “Are you serious?”
You could almost see Fate rubbing her hands.
MALAYSIA (MARCH 29)
Podium: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
In the searing heat of Sepang, Vettel shocked the F1 world by scoring Ferrari’s first triumph in two years and putting an end to Mercedes’ string of eight straight victories going back to last season.
The scuderia underwent a topto-bottom shakeup in personnel during the winter, with new team boss Maurizio Arrivabene setting as a goal two wins in 2015 to kickstart a promised resurgence — and now he was already halfway there.
But no one was gloating in the sweltering Ferrari garages. It’s not at every Grand Prix that track temperatures climb to above 60 degrees Celsius, and the consensus was that abnormal conditions likely yielded abnormal results.
“They probably struggled a little bit more with the heat today than they expected,” Vettel said, referring to Mercedes. “Equally, I think we didn’t struggle with the heat as much as we probably expected, so both things put together made us very competitive today and able to beat them fair and square.”
Hamilton wasn’t about to sweat anything beyond the heat. “It wasn’t the best of weekends,” he said. “There were lots of things we did wrong, lots of things we could have done better. But it wasn’t a big disaster. People have definitely blown it out of proportion, and hopefully we will correct that.”
CHINA (APRIL 12)
Podium: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Hamilton followed through on his promise to set things right after the disappointment of Malaysia, comfortably scoring his second win of the season and leading Rosberg to another 1-2 triumph for Mercedes, the 18th in 22 races dating back to last year.
Which isn’t to say Shanghai failed to produce any fireworks. It’s just that they were set off after the checkered flag was waved — in the press room, when Rosberg bizarrely accused his teammate of trying to sabotage his race.
Specifically, Rosberg suggested Hamilton had cruised around the track just fast enough to stay ahead, but slow enough to cause the trailing Mercedes to back into Vettel in third, giving the Ferrari a fighting chance to steal second.
“You were just thinking of yourself with the pace at the front,” Rosberg scolded Hamilton. “I’m unhappy about that.”
“It’s not my job to look after Nico’s race,” Hamilton pointed out. “I wasn’t controlling his race; I was controlling my race.”
Besides, if Hamilton was going so slow, why had Rosberg not passed him on the track to take the victory for himself?
“If Nico wanted to get by,” Hamilton said in an almost-dare, “he could try.”
BAHRAIN (APRIL 19)
Podium: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Hamilton made it a hat trick for Mercedes in the desert kingdom, winning his third Grand Prix of the season — his ninth in the last 11 races — and serving notice that his title defence was on track at this early juncture of the campaign.
With no victories to his name, Rosberg was beginning to look like a man unable to mount a credible challenge in an equal car, slipping to the third step of the podium from his usual runner-up position.
At the same time, Ferrari provided more evidence that its progress was real, this time with Kimi Raikkonen coming in second, making it four podiums in four races for the Prancing Horse and suggesting it was just a matter of time before Mercedes would be caught.
“We will get there,” Raikkonen said, though Vettel was more cautious: “It will take a while before we are a decent match.”
There was another awkward moment at the post-race news conference, when Hamilton was asked if he was happy Raikkonen had taken points away from Rosberg. “Kimi’s right here — you know that, right?” Hamilton said, suggesting the question was misplaced. “Normally you ask ...” he began, and then let it go. “I wasn’t expecting that question. I don’t know,” he said.
In the end, Hamilton decided his team would not be “100-per-cent happy” after missing out on a 1-2 finish, and therefore neither was he.
SPAIN (MAY 10)
Podium: 1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
After five races in far-flung places, F1 returned to its home base for the start of the European campaign at the Spanish Grand Prix, a venue that serves as the sport’s key performance barometer.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is where F1 does much of its testing and where the track characteristics are considered the most representative of all circuits. It’s also where teams unveil major upgrades to their cars for the big race.
“If we can show we’ve made a step forward here,” Vettel said, “I guess that would be the case for the races coming.”
Which is why the results of the Grand Prix came as a big blow not only to Ferrari and its tifosi, but also to F1 fans of all stripes who were hoping to witness a title fight between teams and not only teammates in 2015. It’s not just that Ferrari came up short again; it’s that Vettel crossed the finish line 45 seconds behind the winning Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, representing the biggest deficit between the silver and red cars in the season so far.
At least, it was Rosberg at the wheel of the winning Mercedes, putting an end to Hamilton’s win streak and raising hopes that maybe the intra-team fight was on, after all.
MONACO (MAY 24)
Podium: 1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Oops. Talk about a blunder, surely one of the greatest in F1 history.
Hamilton was well on his way to making up for his loss in Spain in a big way — by winning the most prestigious event on the F1 calendar and re-establishing his cushion atop the drivers’ standings.
He took pole position in Monaco — his fourth in five races — and was leading the Grand Prix without a hint of worry when, on Lap 62 of 78, Max Verstappen crashed his Toro Rosso into a tire wall and triggered the deployment of the safety car.
Several cars dove into the pits for a change of tires to prepare for the final sprint to the finish line, and Hamilton radioed his team to suggest he do the same. The collective brain trust in the Mercedes camp saw nothing wrong with the plan, and they called him in.
Here’s what was wrong: Their other driver, Rosberg, did not follow suit. Nor did Vettel, who was running just behind in third. By the time Hamilton emerged on fresh rubber, he found himself sucking the exhaust of both cars.
The good news is it sets things up nicely for this weekend’s Grand Prix on Île Notre Dame. Instead of a cushion, Hamilton arrives with a less-than-comfortable 10-point lead over Rosberg, with 25 points going to the winner.
In the aftermath of the Monaco mishap, Hamilton was asked what was going through his mind. “Come back and win the next one,” was his defiant reply.