Mercedes takes seventh title: 'Greatest misjudgment of Formula 1 ever'

Mercedes has been able to win the seventh world title in a row, and that deserves many compliments. The team managed to do the impossible and beat Ferrari's record, set between 1999 and 2004.

No one as dominant as Mercedes

2005 marked the end of a dominant period for Ferrari, who won six world titles in a row from 1999 to 2004. No one is ever going to break that. But less than 20 years later, Mercedes is doing the impossible. A mega achievement of a strong team, but perhaps also the fault of Formula 1?

''Of course Lotus, Williams, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing were also dominant over several seasons, but this team is simply unbeatable. Of course they have a huge budget to make it happen, but so do Ferrari and other teams," says Martin Brundle in his column for Sky Sports.

Advantage for Hamilton

''The hybrid era has been the biggest flaw in my options for Formula 1, because the cars have become too complex, heavy, quiet and extremely expensive. This era has played into Mercedes' hands and they have never given away that lead. They are calm, focused, mature and a well-oiled machine."

This was again evident in Imola, where Lewis Hamilton took off with the victory. ''Immediately after Valtteri Bottas' pit stop, Lewis asked if he could go on and I still get the feeling that the team responds more quickly to that, which is not the case with Bottas. Hamilton does have the qualities to make strategy work," the former Formula 1 driver concludes.