New Ground For Mercedes

Formula One is often seen as a driver dominated sport.

The majority of fans interested in Formula One have their favourite driver, no matter who they drive for.

Their interest is solely in that driver.

I was the same, hence my username in VitalF1 of Red5.

I supported Nigel Mansell and I didn’t care if he was driving a Williams, a Ferrari, a McLaren or a Newman-Hass Indy Car.

But for those involved in Formula One, the driver is seen as just another component. They might not be as easily replaced as a faulty brake disc and depending on your driver you might get a better performance from one in comparison to another, but in the great scheme of things its the team that rules.

That’s certainly the case at Mercedes AMG, where the German manufacturer are trying to not only clinch the drivers Formula One title but also the constructors championship as well.

To them arguably, the constructors title is the most important. The focus of the media may well be on the drivers title, but the money comes from the teams battle.

‘For the drivers, it is about the drivers’ world championship, but nevertheless you have to understand that there is a big organisation behind them – one of the biggest and most well-known brands in the world – and sometimes the team comes first. That is clear and both of them acknowledge and accept that. This is very important. They recognise the historic achievements of Mercedes-Benz in motorsport, and they put their own place in the right context.’ Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff told formula1.com.

But as the drivers battle heats up and especially considering Mercedes dominance, the focus will shift from the team game to the drivers game as Mercedes have all but mathematically already won the constructors title in 2014.

That shift has perhaps already been seen when Lewis Hamilton refused to pull over for team-mate Nico Rosberg in a bid to maximise the two’s race strategy.

In the smaller picture of the Hungarian Grand Prix, that decision cost Mercedes a chance of a race victory as Rosberg’s chances of standing on the top step of the podium would have increased.

But in the bigger picture of the Formula One World Championship, that decision was the difference between Hamilton actually closing the gap by 3 points or Rosberg extending it by 13 points, a points swing of 16 points.

Going into the summer break that decision was huge, Rosberg leads Hamilton by 11 points, but if Hamilton had pulled over it could easily have been a lot more.

Wolff continued: ‘Yes, potentially it is going to get more heated, but if we carry on in performing as we do now I am still carefully optimistic that it is only up to the two of them in fighting for the world championship.

‘Then we get to a situation where we could discuss if we want to maintain the way we work with each other. Do we think it is beneficial for the car, the team, and both sides of the garage? Or do we want to recalibrate a little bit, because it is about the two of them and one remaining world championship?’ That is a question mark – I don’t know, because I haven’t been there yet. It is new ground.’