Following a rather disappointing performance in the Australian Grand Prix, in which Daniil Kvyat failed to start, Red Bull Racing has warned that they may exit Formula One at the end of the season if regulations are not changed. Team boss, Christian Horner, wishes for the FIA to implement a mechanism to limit Mercedes’ power and make races more even. This comes after Mercedes dominated the 2014 season, winning the World Constructors’ Championship by 296 points. It would appear as though Mercedes is on the road to victory once again, locking out the front row of the grid in qualifying and earning a 1-2 finish in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. According to Bernie Ecclestone, former FIA president, Max Mosley, created a rule that allowed the FIA to level up the rules, should a particular team or engine supplier dominate in the manner that Mercedes are today.
It is undeniable that Mercedes are very dominant in sport. The company has developed a dynamite power unit to go along with the almost perfect chassis. In appears as though we are about to enter the Mercedes Era. There have been a variety of different eras throughout the duration of the sport: the McLaren-Honda Era in the Ayrton Senna days; the Williams Era from 92’ to 97’; the Ferrari Era with Michael Schumacher; the Red Bull Era with Sebastian Vettel. Domination has been the story of Formula One’s long history, but why is the Mercedes’ domination different?
Back when Michael Schumacher won his championship in 2002, Ferrari had won 15 races in the season. This repeated itself again in 2004. Red Bull had dominance like this in both 2011 and 2013, winning 12 and 13 races in the seasons. In addition, Red Bull beat Mercedes in the World Constructors’ Championship by 236 points in 2013, after winning nine consecutive races in the conclusion of the season. Mercedes only won seven consecutive races in 2014 between two drivers, unlike 2013 when Vettel was the only winner for Red Bull.
In my opinion, the only reason that Red Bull is even considering an exit is because they are no longer the winners. It is hypocritical for a team that has had so much success like Red Bull to even suggest that the FIA try to make the competition closer. They didn’t say a word about it when they were the ones on top of the championship for four years in a row. They are simply trying to get back on top of the charts, after having a horrific season in 2014. It is a very unsportsmanlike attempt on the part of Red Bull. You can tell that they are just angry, calling the Renault engine “a bit of a mess”.
Could Formula One benefit from closer finishes? Certainly. However, the way that Red Bull is complaining about it and making unreasonable threats is unacceptable. They made similar threats in 2014, but didn’t carry through with them. I feel that this will also be the case in 2015, but it does get rather annoying to have a successful team – still capable of getting second position in the World Constructors’ Championship – whining about having some issues.
