Mercedes Have A BIG Problem! | The Shakedown Podcast #72 

Well said

🎯

Because engineering/setting up an F1 car is an extremely difficult task that teams often get wrong, especially when their star driver appears to think he knows better than his engineers at times. I'm by no means a Lewis hater, I think he's objectively one of the best drivers in the history of the sport. However, I get the strong impression that he thinks he knows more about the technical aspects of car set up/design than he really does. To be clear by no means am I trying to imply that he doesn't know anything about these things. As an engineer that did FSAE and knows engineers in F1 (not at Mercades) this is a common "problem" with some drivers. They think that doing X will cause Y based on their experience with one car, when in reality that's just not the case for complicated reasons that often arent intuative or obvious. Nico said on one of his YT videos years ago, that one of the few advantages he had over Lewis was his technical understanding of car set up and the fact that he was able to play with things like differential settings and braking bias on specific corners more than Lewis did. By most accounts Lewis is much more of a "feel" driver than a "technical" one and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I just think the frustration of not having a top tier car is really getting to him and I personally don't think he's necessarily handled it well at times.

@@specialK319319 I don't buy the Nico Rosberg better tech knowledge speil. I recall Malaysia 2014--where Merc had to produce a massive dossier on Hamilton's techniques to help a struggling Rosberg. And from what i recall, it was often Rosberg who couldn't work out what engine settings to use and /or was in the wrong setting, such as Spain 2016. The whole point of my post was to point out that there are other people involved in choosing a particular set-up. It's not solely on Lewis as Baxty seems to intimate. It's more complex than 1 person making all the decisions.

@@specialK319319 -I don't buy the myth re Rosberg's technical prowess. The only point i'm making is that it's not solely down to Lewis. Other, more qualified personnel are also involved in the set-up decisions.

Toto is a business man, not an engineer. He was told by his engineering team that the car can work.

@@robertnowac8094 Totto is first of all a Team principal, a team manager, whether or not he is an engineer doesn't mean he was clueless of the of the problems of the car.. The ideia of raising the car by a few centimeters was the perceived silver bullet that would have solved the issues and give Mercedes the advantage the simulator showed (1 sec faster).. Engineer or not he sold to FIA the ideia of safety concerns with porpoising and bouncing, therefore he was aligned with the plan of engineers to raise the car.. So don't tell me that he didn't know of the problems, he is as guilty as his engineers for not changing the car in 2022

@@bencabral1453 Certainly some car problems are obvious for all to see but Toto looks to the team engineers for his understanding of the car. I assume he trusts them.

They did this year, and that is one of the reasons the car is so shit.

It’s hilarious too cause Hamilton is not technically inclined at all. I garunteed his suggestions were, “we need more downforce in the rear, need to be faster” yes Lewis we know, but how should we do that? Garunteed the engineers are sick of Hamilton’s attitude and sick of the mob cult fanbase that is spreading toxicity and hate about a team that gave their fav driver 6 championships 😂.

You felt it to

Fascinating points. Although I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, Lewis took it much worse than Toto ever did, because frankly it means more to him. Toto is a businessman at the end of the day and only cares about the brand, that’s why he was celebrating the night his driver was robbed and tucked his tail post AD21.

Very true!!!!!

@@Daris_13i think you are right that Lewis took it much harder. But in defense of Toto he also had an obligation to the team that won the constructors to celebrate their effort. That is the only thing a leader should do in that moment instead of moping around.

Lewis is far from done. If you put him in a dominant car he will come alive. With that said, he sure has been making a lot of wrong calls regarding car setup and a couple of mistakes driving in general, he is not as fast as he was but best believe he is still a very very good wheel to wheel racer and is as determined as ever.

He's brilliant. They're the new meta

agree

He was the most honest and objective Sky presenter by far

I respect your opinion;however, I don’t have anything nice to say about Nico. Yesterday, today & tomorrow. He comes across as a fair weather person.

He’s honest. I’m a fan. Usually these types of ppl are hated. Nico seems to be popular thus far though.

Mercedes were accustomed to spending their way out of problems that is why the cost cap has disproportionately clobbered them

Toto is not a politician he does not spin answers - Baxtie 2024

It's not that long ago the British were experts in Brazilian Portuguese, so that can't be really much of an issue.

The only reason he would want a Mercedes ambassadorship is to have something Lewis wasn’t given. He don’t really care about that

@@thiscatrocks indeed, Max doesn't care what Lewis might or might not have been given. He only focusses on himself. He wants to race and win.

It's exactly this sir. They can't pay their way out of this. 😭 Rewarding mediocrity too. Dislike 😢

Why shouldn’t there be a massive gap between first and second?

​@@michaeldellorso889why should there be such a huge gap? By reducing the gap even a dominant car can loose champions in the case of a few dnf's.

@@GTE_Channel because wins should be heavily rewarded

The rules are not broken, Mercedes design concept is.

He had to because it was about to be leaked.

it was leaked

Now i understand why Rosberg didn't tell Merc he was going to retire.

@@Cati-ws7ei they said Toto leaked it..

Please…….he is a narcissist. He loves being talked about, loves the attention.

You're right. 100pc

He wasn't great on combined exit was. He's no Fernando Alonso 😃

@@CameronF1. That is true - not yet anyway - but Alonso would always make that move.

Toto is a pure manipulator,I guess everybody knows even within the team,Only solution is him out..And restructuring the entire organization..otherwise that team will never be the same

Good for him

Already breaking some crazy records by the age of 26. By the time he retires he will hold the wins and titles records as well.

​@@baxtybf1😭

@@madalinbpopa You can't guarantee that. 2026 is going to change things up massively

By 2026 he will have 5 titles and around 90 wins, given his talent and age it is expected for him to win at least 2 more titles after that. Sure, there is a rule change but unless someone else other than RB shows with an absolutely huge PU advantage like Merc had in 2014, he will still fight for wins and titles, the Red Bull chassis will still be top of the field.

Means a lot Jay. Thank you sir. You're not wrong re: Lewis-Ferrari either! 😭

@@CameronF1. The hardest part of this sport is when we see a talented driver struggle due to lack of a decent car. To me it forces them to try things they might never do. Your comments on the teams they supply doing better than them support what is probably happening in more than one head other than Lewis. In the end all we want is good racing. As for the offer to Max about an ambassadorship, I think that only hurts the situation as they had the opportunity to do that for Lewis. Makes no sense so I see team and driver doing things that don't help either one. Sad

Did you see the question mark in the title? Cheers

David, appreciate the feedback. We've got to interrupt each other though sometimes otherwise great points will get lost every time and each of us will monologue for too long, myself in particular. There's your why

Garden leave ???

@@thiscatrocks It's corporate lingo.

@@Dre_The_Millennial I know what gardening leave is, I’m questioning you suggestion

@@thiscatrocks Oh ok.

Yes, Baxty in particular is too quick to blame Lewis and too quick to defend Toto

​@@user-tf8qf3kb5e💯 and I'm glad I wasn't the only one who can see it.

And a delusional management team

He's told us as much. On multiple occasions

He is just not that guy always the bridesmaid never the bride. He crumbles under pressure

How is it LEWIS job to fix the performance issues of the car-his job is to drive the car.

@@agro-valleyfarm7217 It's a team sport. If we apply your logic, when they were winning we should laud the engineering and design team for delivering such a dominant package. Lewis just drove it. That doesn't seem fair does it?

@@deanrwatson Yes the engineer should be given a lot of credit re: the performance of the car but no one can blame LEWIS or his partner for the underperformance of the current car. When you see how Mclaren have moved ahead of Merc the problem is serious. Teams have moved forward but it doesn't seem like Merc have made any significant improvement. Hopefully in the second half of the season we'll see a better performance from both Merc drivers.

What had they won before Toto arrived?

Get informed you 🤡

He built nothing. He bought into a team on the rise, got handed the most dominant engine in F1 history, and won championships without having to scrape for every tenth. Have a bad pit stop? Turn up party mode.

This is not a fair comment Toto was integral in building a solid Mercedes team

Don't hold your breath first he has to beat Charles. I doubt he can even remember all the plans Ferrari have for each race. "We are going with plan g Lewis" Lewis "WTF just tell me when I have to come in guys"

@@TayebMC well hey maybe so but hey you never know and I get that it's been almost 20 years since Ferrari have won a championship and maybe they can win with Charles lecare and even Lewis Hamilton fans still say that he's going to win a 8th championship at Ferrari.

I don't think they are Clifford. Just differences in opinion is all.

@@CameronF1. well i disagree. Totos actions are too obvious to ignore. From refering to lewis as Hamilton to not celebrate his goid results. Dont tell me that he only celebrates about winning. When lewis came second at cota last year he was ecstaric. Hes been ecstatic whenever merc gets a podium. Something has changed and weve got to keep the score accurately. This constant sugar coating by members of the f1 community whenever it is their guy is getting tiresome.

Na, Toto wants Max, just to piss off all the Lewis fan boi's. Going to be even worse next year when Ferrari is 4th behind RB, McLarren and Merc

Is this your first episode chap?

Time stamp? Sounds like a healthy discussion to me.

Lewis said he made a mistake in setup, so what are you talking about? He took ownership. Under the cost cap, nobody is catching Red Bull. You can't spend your way out of it, and the rules don't restrict the winning team enough to allow teams to catch up. Other series have "success weight" or 'BOP" or whatever, in F1 all you can do is wait until next tech regulation and hope you get it right then. Red Bull got it massively right with car... that's it..

​@@racerx94yeah but that doesn't change the fact the past was then. Let new talent get in and leave when motivation is gone. LH deserves better than Vettel's end, with a career dying like a flame of a night candle.

@@Buho641 we'll see next year... He doesn't seem motivated to race for 2nd, 3rd and so forth. He's used to an era where you could get the car right by spending when you get it wrong. A lot of these young guys, like George are happy to race for points. He's used to racing for wins, and Mercedes doesn't understand the ground effects era, and they can't spend their way out.. so they're lost. Maybe he's demoralized.. who knows.

​@@racerx94👍 agree.

No, the Mercedes has been proven to be much better in the past and the drivers not that special. If both drivers have lost their mojo after getting a different car, the mojo was in the car.

Never read the actual cost-cap report itself huh ? 🤡 Pure ignorance-dispenser 💩

Ufffff! Can you imagine! That would be chaos. You love to see it right?

Downfall started before winning 8 WCC titles? Ok

Wow - when things go downhill for me, I want it to be like Merc’s downfall Also TP does not mean technical director, he’s not there to have expertise to sort out the performance issues of the car

@@baxtybf1 seeing what Ross Brawn has achieved in his career at Benetton, Ferrari, Brawn and the basis he put for Mercedes vs what Toto is doing at the moment, which is a total disaster, I think the guy might be right. Ross Brawn is a genius and one of the most brilliant minds F1 has ever seen, Toto Wollf is a businessman.

@@baxtybf1 When did that occur and who or what triggered it??

@@madalinbpopa I have come to the conclusion you know nothing

Or maybe George lied… Or maybe both of them lied Or maybe…neither of them did

@@tyredf1pod the info was from the engineer of Lewis. Who is always in his ear. Forgot his name. Bono?

@@tyredf1pod only one of these 2 has been the subject of " Liegate" back in 2009 and it wasn't Russell.

He didn't lie. They started with the same setup and then went different ways

Wow the hate for lewis...he lied because George said so..George appears that nice to you.

Hamilton did not want Verstappen at Mercedes, something Toto regrets now that he choose for Bottas 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. And Verstappen did beat Saiz, a topdriver, he did beat Ricciardo (who did beat 4 times world champion Vettel). He did beat all his opponements. He started at the age of 18 in the Red Bull and did win his first Grand Prix in the Red Bull. Since his age of 18 and driving for Red Bull (for 9 years now) he won each year at least 1 Grand Prix. Even when Red Bull ended third or second in the constructors championchip. When Mercedes ended third or second (2022, 2023) in the constructors championchip Hamilton did not 1 Grand Prix. Just facts. Difficult for me, because I like both drivers, but I do not like all the hate against Verstappen.

@@mynewsis4u2 No more hate than that made for Nelson Piquet in his day. Sometimes we get these uncharismatic characters in F1 like VER and Piquet. Glad most people see a lot has to do with the car he drives. Also Marko’s hobbling of his teammates car which is clear for all to see on the straights has really rubbed fans the wrong way.