You're misreading the situation. Mercedes has been nowhere as a team the last 2 races.
They were certainly lost in Monaco, but in Baku, Hamilton had the lead with two laps to go and it wasn't the team that screwed it up. All you can do is put your guys in position to win, which Mercedes did.
I'm disappointed that no one caught the irony of Hamilton calling the team out and then throwing the next race away all by himself. It's been so long I can't remember Hamilton's last mistake, but to throw 25 points in the bin is pretty glaring. Please don't misunderstand this for being critical. It's remarkable Hamilton has been mistake free for so long and Sunday was just one of those things that had to happen eventually.
I really can't tell you how Mercedes fell apart in such a short time, but I don't think they are as helpless as you suggest. Everything was hitting on all cylinders just two races ago. The team strategy and driver made up for having a slightly slower car, but you have to get close enough first, and they did. Monaco was a slight surprise, but I expected Merc to bounce back right away. Hamilton has been in the fight to win every race this year except Monaco, and a lot of teams would like to be that bad, but still, what the hell happened?
We could have a brand new series when the new wing stiffness tests are put into play next race. It stands to reason a flexing wing would work better at a place like Baku with it's long straights. My guess is that it's a significant advantage. Red Bull isn't cheating because the car passes the current regulations, but there's no doubt a lot of speed is coming from that wing sitting down. It's really not fair to change the rules after Red Bull put so much effort into getting that wing to work, within the rules, btw, but if you do want to look at it as cheating, right there is why Mercedes can't keep up. They didn't cheat. They didn't push the rules. They played it straight up and it bit them.
I'm not being critical of Red Bull because their car passes all the current tests. They beat the rules. You don't have to like it, but Red Bull outsmarted everyone.
The new rules could totally change the face of things because Merc is not that far off. Yeah, they are definately off, but it's not like they are lost. The difference could very well be in the wing, but we'll certainly see when they start pulling on the things. My money is on Merc to figure it out first, but I'll flip on that if Red Bull is.
But hey, this is what we wanted, right? We wanted someone to challenge Merc and now Red Bull is 1st and 3rd, and it's not even close to being over. This could get
really good.
Couple that with Indycar and a very strong IMSA series, and I don't think we've ever had it so good as fans.
One thing is to not win the race because you just dont have it but Bottas couldn't even score points this week. It's all the car, I'm afraid.
I think Botas problems are Botas. Either way, the heat is on at Mercedes for that seat, and when you look at all the good talent lined up, he's not in a good position. You can say it's the car, but again, Hamilton puts the car in position to win every week and Valteri has a flash or two of brilliance, and then wastes the car. I don't hate the guy or anything, but I don't think he's doing his job very well.
