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Mercedes has what it takes to get into a fight with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari for the world championship, provided they stop complaining and find solutions, according to Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel.
After an extended period of dominance in F1, the German team has not been able to maintain that same level of performance under the sport's new regulations in 2022. The team believes that it has the potential to be at the front but that it has just not been able to unlock that potential on track with the W13.
After the FIA introduced a new set of technical directives following the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, where Mercedes was once again vocal about porpoising, things reached a melting point in Canada. Toto Wolff had a confrontation with Red Bull boss Christian Horner in front of Netflix cameras that were filming for the next season of Drive To Survive.
Coronel feels Mercedes is stronger than it appears to be, and can find a way back to competing at the top if it gets its affairs in order. In an interview with motorsport.com, the Dutchman said:
“First the complaining starts. Mercedes is a team that can make the steps. They have the people, the smarts and the money. But they have opted for a certain philosophy with those narrow sidepods. They want to build on that. They taste potential, but it’s not there yet.”
He continued:
“I hope they come in. When two dogs fight over a bone, the third goes with it. Then we get more people racing at the front. Because a [George] Russell and a Lewis [Hamilton] should at least be able to fight for the championship.”
Coronel added:
“I hope they come right soon. There is potential in this car, it’s not currently where we want it to be but it’s just got a really small working window. If you don’t get it perfect, it’s all over the place. That’s the really hard thing to navigate through.”
Mercedes' porpoising issues caused by its own car concept, claims Red Bull boss Christian Horner
The German team's issues with porpoising are down to the Silver Arrows' car concept for the W13, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
In an interview with Motorsport Network during the 2022 F1 Canadian GP weekend, Horner said:
“The issue with Mercedes is more severe, or certainly has been prior to [Canada] than any other car. That surely is down to the team. That’s within their control to deal with that, if it’s not affecting others.”
He continued:
“I know it was said other drivers have been complaining. Our drivers have never complained ever about porpoising. They’ve said certain circuits could do with tidying up, perhaps resurfacing in places. But we haven’t had an issue with bouncing. The problem is they’re running their car so stiff. I think their concept is the issue rather than the regulation.”
Mercedes showed strong form in the Canadian GP. It will be interesting to see how the car fares at the 2022 F1 British GP, a race Lewis Hamilton has won eight times in his F1 career.
