After getting dominated by Scuderia Ferrari in the Canadian Grand Prix, is it time for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team to panic?
Through seven of the 21 races on the 2018 Formula 1 schedule, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport have a 17-point lead in the constructor standings over second place Scuderia Ferrari (206 to 189) and a 72-point lead over third place Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer (206 to 134).
However, Mercedes were dominated by Ferrari in the Canadian Grand Prix at 14-turn, 2.710-mile (4.361-kilometer) Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this past Sunday, and it was not the first time that they were dominated by Ferrari, Red Bull Racing or both through seven races so far this season.
In fact, four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton lost the 14-point lead (110 to 96) in the driver standings that he entered the race with thanks to the fact that he finished in fifth place and scored 10 points while fellow four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari won and scored 25 points to take a one-point lead (121 to 120).
Is it time for the Brackley-based organization to panic?
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Last season, it took until after the 13th of 20 races on the schedule, the Italian Grand Prix, for Hamilton to pass Vettel for the lead of the driver standings for the first time in 2017. Given the fact that Hamilton has already led the standings after three of the first seven races of this season and the fact that he only trails Vettel in the standings by one point right now, the short answer to this question would be a resounding “no”.
However, while there are 14 races remaining in the 2018 Formula 1 season and the answer is probably “no” because of it, this season has a bit of a different feel to it than last season did. Ferrari, while they have as many victories (three) as they did last season at this time, have clearly gained on Mercedes in the speed department.
Plus, through the first seven races of the season, Mercedes have earned just two victories. Last season at this time, they had earned four victories. Red Bull Racing have entered the mix with two victories of their own so far this season. Last season, they earned just three victories, and their first victory did not come until the eighth race of the season.
While Mercedes have earned two victories so far this season, with both having been earned by Hamilton, only one came as a result of a dominant race. That race was the fifth race of the season, which was the Spanish Grand Prix. It resulted in a 1-2 finish for Mercedes, with Hamilton holding off his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, by 20.593 seconds to take the checkered flag.
The other race won by a Mercedes driver was the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which was dominated by Vettel until a pit strategy mistake by his team helped Bottas take the lead. An overaggressive move by Vettel to attempt to take back the lead moved Hamilton up to second place, which was the perfect position for him to be in when Bottas’s car sustained a tire puncture with three laps to go. At that point, Hamilton took the lead and went on to win the race after leading only three of its 51 laps.
While Red Bull Racing seem to be in a distant third place in the constructor standings behind Mercedes and Ferrari, the fact is that they have been right up there with those two teams speed-wise so far this season. A disastrous slew of blown opportunities is what has kept them from scoring far more points than they have scored so far this season.
While Mercedes should not panic quite yet, they should be far more alarmed this season than they have been in the past four seasons of the V6 turbo hybrid era, the era that began in the 2014 season and had been absolutely dominated by the Silver Arrows until recently.
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Do you believe that it is time for Mercedes to panic? Do you believe that they will end up being beaten by Ferrari in the 2018 Formula 1 constructor standings? Do you believe that Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will end up claiming his fifth career Formula 1 championship before Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton can do so by winning this season’s title? Tune in to each of the remaining 14 races of the 2018 season to find out.