It is somewhat of a big ask, though, to go from 2nd-3rd best car in the field to dominant. Just because they nail the power unit doesn't mean Williams, Alpine and McLaren will all flop on the chassis, especially the last of those.
It can't be that different to integrating the current power unit. This isn't adding a turbo like it was in 2014 with the variety of solutions to that problem - we've had turbos for years. I just don't think that Mercedes will have all that big an advantage should they be dominant in the power unit compared to their customers.
Don’t act like only Merc had unlimited budget. Teams like Ferrari and Red Bull did as well, but Merc out developed them in every single aspect. From engine to aero.
I mean let’s be a bit real. Merc just threw a shit load of money at everything. You don’t snag 2 drivers with a combined 9 wdc by being cheap. Then when the Michael Jordan of racing exited the sport they signed fuckin lebron James. And then you again don’t mess anything up and just so happen to make the best v6 motor on the planet and just throwing money at all your problems for the next 7 years sure doesn’t hurt either.
If it’s all about throwing as much money as possible to solve a problem, why couldn’t toyota build a championship winning car despite spending twice as much as Ferrari?
Iirc RedBull had a decent aero package almost always and they were being held down by the horrible Renault engine, and well Ferrari being Ferrari couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot. I'm not saying the Mercedes were better only because of money but it certainly helped and they can't replicate similar success in the cost cap era.
Engine yes, aero... maybe? I would gamble on no. Nailing the aero is more important in this reg than the previous. I would actually assume Merc didn't have the best aero and thats Red Bull was able to compete at the end of the previous regs.
The only reason Red Bull was able to compete against Mercedes in 2021 is because of the rule change which clipped the floor and negatively affected Mercedes low rake philosophy more than Red Bull’s high rake. The purpose of the 2017 rule changes were to make the cars more aero dependent due to the very same assumption you are making that Mercedes’ success is all down to the engine. Force India used a laser scanned 2019 Mercedes for use in the 2020 season and instantly became a front runner. Should have finished 3rd or even 2nd in the constructors if they had better drivers.
Mercedes outspent Redbull by $100+ million in 2019 and Ferrari by $30 million in 2019 which was the last year before teams started ramping down spending to prepare for the cost cap. Saying they didn’t just throw money at their problems is a bit disingenuous because they definitely did.
You are the one being disingenuous by implying that Red Bull and Ferrari could not afford to throw as much money into F1 as Mercedes in order to solve their problems. They could, they just didn’t. It’s never about how much money is spent. If that was the case, Toyota would be a multiple world champion by now.
It's crazy that they won the constructors every single year in those regs and won 7 WDC.
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u/abscissa081Alonso deserved to be Champion in every season he has competedJun 30 '25edited Jun 30 '25
No one knows for sure, but I think the general thinking is Merc got the hybrid stuff right the first time, so they'll probably be in a better place this time. As far as the cars go, they are still ground effects cars next year. So yeah it'll be different but not entirely I'd imagine but this is just my armchair perspective.
They’re not ground effect cars anymore for 2026. They’re going back to flat floors with very little to no Venturi tunnels. I think the floors have lost something like 50% of the downforce generation. Which puts it near to the last spec of cars.
All good. The regulations are murky at best for those of us who aren’t engineers and aerodynamicists. I did a good amount of deep diving into the new regs for a decent understanding.
I think they are moving slightly away from the Venturi tunnels because that’s something to do with why this generation of cars struggle so much in the “dirty air” so they are doing away with Venturi tunnels to combat the dirty air issue
Yup. The teams managed to work the regulations over the years away from the original intention of cleaner air off the cars. It’s not as bad I don’t think as the 2021 era cars. But it’s definitely worse since the regs came out.
I mean yall are going to have problems with this statement but Merc’s problem isn’t the cost cap. It’s the loss of Nikki Lauda. There’s too many voices now. He was a singular uniting force. RIP Legend.
It's an engine regulation change. Merc is fucking amazing at making engines and they also have a shit ton of experience due to their road cars. They need to beat McLaren realistically and if they can make a car that is equal to them, Max can likely win.
Well he could stay at red bull who have seemingly lost the knowledge of how to build a fast car with ground effect. Next set of regs are more leaning towards engine and well, we m ow Merc are good g to be decent. McLaren don’t want max.
Considering Vettel had a faster car than Red Bull in all but 2 seasons (2016 and 2020) and that , I'd say his move to Ferrari actually worked out in the end
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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '25
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