Mercedes was powerless at COTA, claims former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher amidst their 2021 title fight against Max Verstappen.
Mercedes and Red Bull are in intense competition for 2021 against Red Bull. The American leg was won by Red Bull, even though Mercedes was touted to be at an advantage initially.
In the end, Lewis Hamilton genuinely clawed back at Max Verstappen, but he wasn’t successful in his chase. Ralf Schumacher felt that it was too late to attempt, and Mercedes was looking powerless in America.
Winners at @COTA in the turbo hybrid era:
2014 – Mercedes
2015 – Mercedes
2016 – Mercedes
2017 – Mercedes
2018 – Ferrari
2019 – Mercedes2021 – Red Bull
What. A. Drive. 👏👏👏#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YwuD460EIf
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) October 24, 2021
“Mercedes couldn’t keep up with the performance at the beginning,” Schumacher, a former F1 driver, told Sky Germany. “By the time Lewis got the speed, the race was over. The Mercedes was a bit powerless at times.”
Verstappen’s win against Hamilton has now placed him12 points ahead in the drivers’ championship. This was the Dutchman’s eighth win of the season.
Also read: Valtteri Bottas hoping two-stop strategy can help him overtake Ferrari and McLaren in COTA
Mercedes needs to find something extra against Max Verstappen
Schumacher opines that Mercedes would be needing something extra to defeat Red Bull in the remaining five races to clinch their eighth successive title.
“Red Bull has taken a step forward,” he said. “Mercedes has to stretch. Red Bull is slightly ahead. It remains exciting,” he said. Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the undercut by Red Bull was a necessity but called them bold to pull it off.
“You could see the different strategies [between the teams],” said the Mercedes motorsport boss. “One went for the undercut out of necessity, and it was a very courageous move because it was very early, and then the second time again [they pitted first] to their advantage.
“Max’s driving, particularly in the last stint, you saw that he had learned from the first stint not to damage the tyres too early.” he added. Now, both teams will vie in Mexico in the first week of November.
