The hurdles facing Mercedes to get back to the front of F1
When can Mercedes get back into contention with Ferrari and
Red Bull? Few doubt that the Silver Arrows will return to the battle at the front of Formula 1, the question is more about whether the progress can come soon enough to make it a three-way title fight.
As James Allison and Andrew Shovlin show in our cover article on page 16, the technical problems of the team’s 2022 machine are more complex than those of its predecessor 12 months ago.
And the scope for improvement is more limited thanks to the cost cap and windtunnel restrictions.
Nevertheless, the squad’s record over the past decade, not to mention the strengths of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, suggests Mercedes will surely overcome the problems. F1’s new era has made a promising start – having a third team battling at the front to keep everyone guessing would really continue that momentum.
F1’s new-found success in the United States also means it will return to Las Vegas in 2023 (p4). The circuit should be more interesting than the Caesars Palace venue used in 1981-82, so all F1 needs now is the Andretti team plan to come off and for an American driver to follow in the footsteps of Mario Andretti, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney.
Elsewhere in this issue, we hear from F1 supersub Nico Hulkenberg (p24), China’s rising Le Mans star Yifei Ye (p26) and look ahead to the Goodwood Members’ Meeting this weekend (p34).