Former F1 team principal Eddie Jordan has said that Mercedes’ struggles in recent years could have been avoided if the legendary Niki Lauda was still part of the team. The triple world champion played a crucial role in laying the foundations for Mercedes’ dominance in the turbo-hybrid era before his unfortunate passing in 2019. Guenther Steiner, the outspoken former Haas team boss, echoed Jordan’s sentiments.
Steiner provided a unique insight into Lauda’s relentless pursuit of excellence. During their conversation on the ‘Formula For Success’ podcast, Jordan asked Steiner if Mercedes is badly missing the presence of Niki Lauda. In response, the Italian said, “Niki is badly missed in Formula 1… that’s my opinion.”
He went on to explain how Lauda had a unique ability to focus on problems and push people to fix them. The 58-year-old said,
“Niki had one talent which I never understood. It’s like if something was wrong, he could focus on one thing and he wore you out, I mean to death, until you fixed it.”
“I mean he would call you 10 times a day telling you the same thing; and always positive, he never got upset he always put it in a spin it was annoying but not upsetting.”, he added.
Steiner cited how Lauda had this peeve of resolving problems that felt “annoying” but “positively annoying”. However, Without Lauda’s persistent drive, Mercedes has been struggling to solve their issues for the third year in a row. The team has had trouble understanding the new ground-effect regulations.
Their initial design philosophy, which focused on zero sidepods, showed promise in simulations but failed to deliver on the track. By the time they changed their approach in 2023, they were already two years behind competitors like Red Bull and Ferrari.
Mercedes finds itself in a downward spiral
These recent struggles have taken a toll on the Mercedes team. Many of the people who were part of their past successes are leaving. Lewis Hamilton, who has been with the Brackley outfit for 12 years, announced before the start of the season that he will be moving to Ferrari in 2025. This was a major blow because Mercedes was counting on Hamilton’s experience to help turn their fortunes.
Now, they have the difficult task of finding someone to replace the seven-time world champion. Toto Wolff, the team boss, tried to bring in Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, for the 2025 season. Wolff publicly stated he was willing to meet any conditions to make this happen. However, Verstappen has made it clear that he is loyal to Red Bull.
How annoyed is Christian Horner with Toto Wolff’s very public pursuit of the Red Bull-contracted Max Verstappen?
Very, very annoyed pic.twitter.com/BHBzDIf5pG
— The Race (@wearetherace) April 21, 2024
Mercedes has also been losing key technical staff to other teams. Recently, Red Bull reportedly poached nearly 20 engineers from Mercedes’ engine department to set up their own engine facility.
Losing so many important people in a short time is not the kind of environment in which championships can be won. Can the Silver Arrows bounce back with another major change in engine regulations on the horizon?
