Lewis Hamilton in the escape route of the first corner after the restart at the end of the race in Baku, Valtteri Bottas transparent throughout the weekend: Mercedes clearly did not know an Azerbaijan Grand Prix in accordance with its standards of its last seasons.
After Monaco's failure against Max Verstappen, the world champions were unable to turn things around near the Black Sea, however taking advantage of Verstappen's setbacks to avoid losing contact in the Drivers' standings.
But a double poor performance in Monaco and Baku which could be linked depending on Ross Brawn. “It was unusual for Mercedes to have a car that was so out of shape, underlines the Motor Sports director of Liberty Media. It may be that following their difficulties in Monaco, they decided to take another path, and that's what put them so out of contention on Friday.
If I had had problems with tire temperature like in Monaco, I would have pushed to try another direction. So their worries on Friday could be the result. »
But the former head of Benetton or Ferrari does not reveal any concern about the German firm's ability to react.
“It is possible that when we return to races where they have more confidence and in a familiar setting, Mercedes will return to their best level, continues Brawn. They have always had a little trouble on street circuits.
That has never been their strength. Red Bull started very strong this year, the complete opposite of what they did last year. They only won in the second part of the championship. So their start is encouraging.
If they can keep this momentum going and stay in contention with Mercedes, we could see one hell of a battle. » Until the necessities of the development of car 2022 does not take too much precedence over the outcome of the 2021 championship? This will be a large part of the equation.
Discover the full report and analysis of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Baku, in AUTO issue 2315hebdo, available now in digital version and from tomorrow on newsstands.
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