Mercedes asks teams for help: 'Surprised it didn't work out'

Mercedes held a big lobby in Azerbaijan for a new F1 rulebook. According to The Germans, the current cars are not safe, but few teams support the reigning world champion among the constructors. Martin Brundle also doesn't understand what the team's intention is.

Lobbying in Azerbaijan

Mercedes is having a much harder time in Formula 1 after eight years of dominance in 2022. The new regulations were interpreted better by Ferrari and Red Bull Racing and the German team just can't get the optimal performance out of the W13. In fact, to get the most out of it, it has to be driven so low that it is barely driveable for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

''Of course, [Mercedes] can fix it by raising the car but then they lose a huge amount of performance. So, they need to get the car low, stiff on the suspension and stiff on the side wall of the new tyres as well, and they've had to sacrifice comfort for performance. What's surprising, really, is that Mercedes just can't seem to get a handle on what looks like, actually, quite an excellent car, if they could just unlock it,'' says Brundle at Sky Sports.

No help for Mercedes

Mercedes tried in Baku to persuade other teams to vote for a new rulebook. According to Toto Wollf and consorts, these regulations are dangerous. However, Brundle understands that other teams are not going along with this.

''To ask the other teams to change the regulations to help Mercedes, is a bit like asking a turkey to vote for Christmas. I'm not underplaying what George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are going through, because it does look particularly painful,'' the Briton concludes.