Mercedes respond to their haters calling them lucky to have been successful in the hybrid era, saying it was far from the truth.
2014 saw the introduction of 1.6-litre turbo-hybrid power units in F1. Every team had a different development approach to it, but there was one which stood head and shoulders above everyone else, and that was Mercedes.
The team from Brackley won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships from 2014 to 2021. With F1 ushering in a new era in 2022, it will be a clean slate for Merc yet again.
Mercedes responded to their haters calling them lucky and a one-hit wonder, saying they worked their tails off to be the best team on the grid.
“It’s not unique to Mercedes to be excited about a regulation set, but it is something I can speak of with the personal experience of having been a part of this team that we do love it when new regulations come along,” Mercedes Chief Technical Officer James Allison said in a video entitled ‘Road to 2022: Setting the Scene for F1’s New Era’, as quoted by GP Fans.
“We see it as an opportunity to show we haven’t just been lucky over the years, we haven’t merely stumbled into a formula – that’s often talked about as the turbo-hybrid era – as if we stumbled into some sort of God-given right to have been dominant all these last seasons.”
Battle tactics
“We see every regulation change as an opportunity to pit our wits against them and see whether we actually still deserve to be competitive,” he continued.
“All of us give our working lives to this sport and quite a lot more besides.
“So this team does have a culture that treats such opportunity with excitement and pleasure and a chance to hopefully demonstrate to ourselves that we are not bad at doing racing cars.”
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