Verstappen review, Leclerc skid

Mercedes took one of the biggest sticks in its history in the apocalyptic outcome of the last Formula 1 World Championship, in Abu Dhabi, and since then it has not raised its head.

It is as if the German brand had not been able to digest the paradigm shift that Red Bull and Max Verstappen's title meant.

It is difficult to understand the very poor start to the season of the Silver Arrows if we take into account the strength with which they finished last year, with a very connected Lewis Hamilton —three wins in the last four appointments—, who was ostensibly faster than his Dutch rival, crowned thanks to the interventionism of the race director, who was subsequently decapitated by the new leadership of the International Automobile Federation (FIM).

Since that night for history in the Yas Marina circuit,

On Saturday, neither of his two cars was able to get into the third qualifying sieve (Q3), something that had not happened for a decade – the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

On Sunday, George Russell crossed the finish line fourth, 43 seconds behind Verstappen, the winner, and would have done so further back were it not for Ferrari's blackest day so far: Carlos Sainz left at the second corner when he was stranded in the gravel after Daniel Ricciardo gave him a touch from behind, and Charles Leclerc -concluded the sixth- got himself into a tremendous mess when he spun when he was circulating the third and went for Checo Pérez (second).

The first big mistake of the leader of the contest.

Although it may seem strange or even bizarre, Hamilton's visit to Italy was simply testimonial.

The seven-time champion of the world,

Considered by many to be the best driver ever, he finished 13th after spending half the race trying to overtake an Alpha Tauri (Pierre Gasly), and going home without success.

Fernando Alonso, in turn, was forced to retire as a result of a brush in which he lost half of the side of his Alpine (seventh lap).

Far from losing intensity, the

(rebound) problems that caught up with Mercedes during the winter tests have worsened as the calendar has progressed.

And that's not the worst, but the efforts of the engineers to solve you left other weaknesses of the W13 in the air.

At Imola, Verstappen gave a real review.

In addition to accumulating his second victory, including a double for Red Bull, Mad Max took

and the fastest lap after winning the

test on Saturday .

An unbeatable way to recover from the trigger two weeks ago, in Melbourne, where he left due to a breakdown.

At the opposite pole, the miseries of the Stuttgart manufacturer took on a new dimension.

The lack of punch of the car from the team from Brackley (Great Britain) was so evident that there were even those who dared to ask Toto Wolff, its director, if he had even considered the possibility of giving up and abandoning the development of the current car , to focus their efforts already on 2023. In his response, the Austrian executive went on to say that that time has not yet come, but that it may not be far.

“We have a path to explore, which should allow us to unlock the potential that we believe this car has.

It is only when the numbers convince you that there is no more gain possible, that is when you can say: ok, we are going to limit damages and focus on the next year”, Wolff described.

Apart from the overweight of the prototype, which was presented in the first test with 20 kilos more than the Ferrari dragged, the key to many of its troubles is concentrated in the floor of the device, and in the differential between the aerodynamic load generated by this component —redesigned by the new regulations—, and the one created by the other areas of the vehicle.

“That creates an imbalance that is not easy to manage.

What we're trying to do is lose some of that charge.

In this situation, we are forced to compromise a lot on the set-up to make the car driveable”, a Mercedes technician reveals to EL PAÍS, who in just five months has even lost its shine.

Nothing more significant than the message that Toto Wolff, executive director of the German team, conveyed to Hamilton: “Lewis,

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