Dutch F1 driver does not see Mercedes 'fighting for the championship anymore'

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde has claimed that Mercedes is out of the championship battle this season. The Dutchman expects the Silver Arrows to eventually take a victory, but given its deficit to the front runners, he believes that it will no longer be able to fight for the championship.

Speaking to RacingNews365, he said:

“They will make a jump and maybe they will be lucky enough to win a race once, but I certainly don’t see them fighting for the championship anymore.”

After a run of eight consecutive world titles, Mercedes' dominance in F1 seems to have finally ended. The team is having its worst season in almost a decade this year, as it struggles to understand its 2022 challenger and its issues.

Unlike in previous years, when the team spent its almost-endless resources to develop its way out of issues, the cost cap and aerodynamic testing regulations have prevented it from doing the same this season as well. Hence, van der Garde believes that the German team may not be able to overcome its deficit against Red Bull and Ferrari in time to challenge them for the championship.

He added:

“The gap is far too big. In qualifying it’s about six to seven tenths, but in the race it was constantly a second. It takes a lot of time, effort and know-how to get that back. With a budget cap, that becomes very difficult.”

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Mercedes has an “easy way out” of its problems: Toto Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed that there is an easy way out of the problems currently faced by the team, but that he only expects to take that route after they capitulate and accept that their current approach is unworkable.

Speaking to GPfans, Wolff said:

“I think there is an easy route out and you just say ‘we are not able to generate it over the floor’ and you patch it up, make it stiffer and see where you end up in performance.”

He further added:

“That is probably faster than where we are at now, but we haven’t yet capitulated and gone back to the simpler solutions.”

Mercedes has attributed much of its problems to porpoising, believing that by understanding the root cause of the issue, it could solve all its problems and still benefit from the strengths of its “no-pod” design.