Not the regulations, but the lack of competitiveness of teams like Ferrari and Mercedes is the reason that the 2023 season is not yet too spectacular. Journalist Damien Smith writes this for Motor Sport Magazine on Thursday morning. Pointing to the regulations to indicate why Red Bull Racing is so dominant is, according to him, only a diversion.
Blaming the rules is a “standard setting in Formula 1,” Smith says. “Like all showbiz, it distracts from the stark and simple reality of why this season has been mediocre so far. Not only is one team operating at a level far above its opponents, four of the most established, respected and best-funded teams are currently failing horribly and performing well below where they should be. Jointly blame Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine for the anti-climax that is 2023 so far, not the rules.”
Ferrari and Mercedes may make personnel changes in vain
Smith highlights the teams one by one. This is how he starts at Ferrari, which said goodbye to Mattia Binotto and appointed Frédéric Vasseur as team boss. “A reaction that showed how a football club would react in times of crisis,” says the journalist. But in another parallel to The Beautiful Game, the evidence suggests it hasn’t addressed the root cause of its shortcomings. In any case, the problem has exacerbated this term thanks to the worrying confusion over the performance of the car.”
Mercedes can also speak of worrying performance. So much so that the technical director and chief technical officer switched roles. ‘But how did it come to this? Was it pride, arrogance, dogma or naive faith to persist in the same technical path in year two of the new rules when the approach fell so far short in 2022? Either way, it points to an alarming failure within the leadership team – and you don’t have to attend a Harvard Business School lecture to recognize that,” jokes Smith, pointing to what team boss Toto Wolff will be doing at Harvard – lecture .
McLaren and Alpine also disappoint
Smith is also not pleased with what McLaren and Alpine are showing so far. At McLaren it was already said before the season that certain objectives were not achieved. “What a mess for an organization full of such experience and carrying what today seems to be the burden of its glorious past. And what a waste of Lando Norris’ talent. Oscar Piastri must wonder what he got himself into.’
Piastri left Alpine, where he was reserve driver, for a seat at McLaren. It is now clear that Alpine is better, but also does not come close to the top teams. In addition, CEO Laurent Rossi was recently devastating about his team’s performance and questioned whether the investment is worth it. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer must expect the worst, with Binotto tipped as a possible replacement. What a sad state,” said Smith.
