Ferrari: Mercedes distracted by lack of team stability
The struggles Mercedes is experiencing in Formula 1 could be the result of a lack of stability in the organisation over recent months, reckons rival Ferrari.
With Red Bull having taken its fourth consecutive F1 victory at the Styrian Grand Prix to extend its lead in the title battles, Mercedes is facing a challenge to improve its car in order to not let the championships slip from its grasp.
But while the clear progress that Red Bull is making with its RB16B car has been important in allowing Max Verstappen to stretch his advantage, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto also thinks other factors are at play.
He believes that the stability Red Bull has had in committing to its senior figures through thick and thin has been crucial for helping the team become stronger over time.
He suggests that is in contrast to Mercedes, which over the past year has seen engine chief Andy Cowell and technical director James Allison step down, plus face huge delays in finalising the contract of lead driver Lewis Hamilton.
Asked after the Styrian Grand Prix about his views on the fight between Red Bull and Mercedes, Binotto said: "Before looking at the technical aspects, and it must be acknowledged that Red Bull has done a great job, I think it is right to point out that they are reaping excellent results because they can count on a team that has been stable for many years.
"Despite having had to face difficulties, despite not having won, they have continued to build a group to try to improve their car. And what we see now is the result of that work.
"If, on the other hand, we look at Mercedes, already in the last year there have been significant internal changes, with roles that have perhaps been revised. Plus the signature with the driver that arrived only in February.
"I think they are signs of a distraction that has led to the current situation."
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
While Binotto did not make any direct comparison to Ferrari's situation, he has long been clear that the best way for Ferrari to make progress over the long term is to give the current structure time to show what it can do.
Binotto also does not back up Mercedes' views that Red Bull's straightline speed gain has been helped by a step forward in engine performance.
He suggests that Red Bull partner Honda may have been forced to wind down its engine in the opening rounds of the season because of reliability concerns, and only now has unleashed its full performance which it could show at limited times earlier in the campaign.
"I don't share [the view] of what I hear and read about, because the performance of the Honda engine, looking at the GPS data, corresponds to the performance they had at the beginning of the season in Bahrain," he explained.
"Then, they had to reduce performance due to reliability issues. I think by solving that, they're back to the standards they had at the start of the season.
"There has been no step forward. We, from Bahrain onwards, always had the same level of performance because the engine allowed us to run like that.
"So for Red Bull, it is not a question of having taken a step forward, because that would not be allowed in the regulations."
Related video
Previous article
FIA would have investigated Bottas pitlane spin without McLaren complaint
Next article
'Mazespin' gift shows Mazepin not 'miserable young man' says Haas
Styrian Grand Prix Driver Ratings
The Styrian GP was a weekend dominated by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, as others showed resurgence after key mistakes, while a couple of drivers were denied the chance to demonstrate their full potential. Here’s the driver ratings from the first race of the Red Bull Ring double-header which features two maximum scores
How Red Bull reversed an old Mercedes advantage in the Styrian GP
With Red Bull toppling Mercedes at another one of the Black Arrows strongholds, momentum is truly with it and Max Verstappen in the 2021 Formula 1 world title fight. But what became clear at the Styrian Grand Prix is Red Bull now also holds a key strength once possessed by its rival that could be pivotal in the championship chase
How Chapman obsessions lifted and limited Lotus post-Clark
Gifted, driven, obsessive – Colin Chapman’s ambition drove Lotus to soaring heights, but also into baffling technological cul-de-sacs as his business empire grew and his focus slipped. In the third part of our history of Lotus, DAMIEN SMITH considers the peaks and troughs of the 1970s
How reliance on car control can hinder F1 drivers
Balancing a car on the ragged edge for lap after lap entertains the fans, says BEN EDWARDS, but in the record books the drivers who work more subtly tend to be higher achievers
The continuing trends that should sustain F1's title fight at the Styrian GP
A year on from Formula 1's Austria double-header, the championship returns to the Red Bull Ring for the Styrian Grand Prix. Last year's race set the tone for Mercedes' continued dominance, but this year's offering so far leans into the current trends of a battle royale between F1's frontguard teams
How F1's biggest crisis helped trigger its exciting 2021 season
Formula 1's return to Austria this weekend comes under exceedingly different circumstances to its last Spielberg visit, when F1 took its first tentative steps out of the global COVID shutdown. But the tightrope F1 walked in 2020 has ultimately led to the most exciting season of the hybrid era
Can Red Bull really win anywhere now it’s toppled a Mercedes F1 stronghold?
OPINION: Red Bull team boss Christian Horner reckoned Max Verstappen winning the French Grand Prix – an event where Mercedes had previously been dominant – would signal “we can beat them anywhere”. Here’s how that claim stacks up looking at the rest of the 2021 season
The IndyCar feature that Paul Ricard desperately needs in F1
OPINION: The French Grand Prix offered a surprisingly interesting spectacle, despite the headache-inducing nature of the circuit. But IndyCar's Road America race offered far more in terms of action - and the increased jeopardy at the Elkhart Lake venue might be something Paul Ricard needs in future...
