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For more than a decade, Red Bull and Mercedes have played a change of guards passing the championship baton to each other. It seems to be Milton Keynes’ turn to lead now, having nailed the 2022 regulations, and with a beast named Max Verstappen behind the wheel. The German team who got the car wrong continued with the same mistake even in 2023. And now their bruised champion, Lewis Hamilton, has questioned the delivery of new regulations.

A ground effect floor and other technical changes arrived at the scene with 2022 regulations with the aim of providing smoother racing and reducing the gap between teams. The 2022 season campaign saw all 10 teams scoring points and that too very early on, and Guenther Steiner infamously said that everyone is in the midfield.

But with the mammoth dominance of Red Bull, nobody seems to have triumphed over that edge. While Hamilton and Co. used to enjoy a similar, or perhaps even greater, dominance, being on the losing side hasn’t been fun for him.

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via Reuters

When asked about the dirty air dynamic changing with the new regulations, as quoted by Motorsport Week, Hamilton said, “Nope, it’s the same as the past.” Recalling the bouncing nightmare, he further added, “I think last year for us was pretty bad with the bouncing, because you’ve got the turbulence and the bouncing, whereas this year we don’t have the bouncing, so we have less issues following cars.”

He continued in despair, stating, “I think it’s still a little bit better than the previous generation of cars. But hasn’t delivered everything that it said it would, so got some improvements to make hopefully for the future.”

While the dominance of the Silver Arrows seems like a thing of the past, another past dynamic lives on just with a twist.

Changing dynamics between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton had the most dominant car, matching his skills for years. He shattered many records and glass ceilings during his reign. However, as of last year, the scenario seems reversed with his archrival, Verstappen now enjoying that dominance and Hamilton willing to take risks to dethrone the former. Sky Sports analyst has an interesting take on this.

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via Reuters

According to F1maximaal.nl, Ted Kravitz said, “What fascinates me is that we now have a complete turnaround in the Mercedes-Hamilton seasons from 2014 to 2021, when Hamilton went for the championship, knowing he has the fastest car and has to play it safe.”

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“You had the novice Verstappen who challenged him and also wanted to participate in the battle. And now you have Hamilton challenging Verstappen and saying, I don’t care, I’m there to take all the risks, and leave the next move to the defending champion.'”

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Do you think Mercedes, with their continuous strive for betterment, can take the challenge to Milton Keynes any time soon? Or will Red Bull see a dominant era for as long as the German team?

Written by

Anmol

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Anmol is an F1 writer at Essentially Sports. She is a Law graduate from National Law University, Lucknow, and currently pursuing PGD in Journalism and Mass Communication from Symbiosis. Being a Rallyist herself she began watching F1, the apex of motorsports, and eventually fell in love with the sport.
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Edited by

Varunkumaar Chelladurai