The 2021 Formula 1 season is proving to be a lot more intense and closely battled than anticipated, especially if we take into consideration what could be seen on track last year. This time we are wittinsing the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (195 to 187 for now), as well as Mercedes against Red Bull (303 to 291 at summer break), with several changes of hierarchies and values on track between the two teams. And Ferrari unfortunately looking at this battle just as an outsider, engaged in its own fight with McLaren for third place in the 2021 Formula 1 Driver Standings.
In Hungary, Mercedes has brought an electronic upgrade to the track with regard to its power unit, as noted by FUnoAnalisiTecnica in its onboard analysis of Lewis Hamilton’s race. Nothing new from the hardware point of view but rather an ‘unique’ mapping that allowed the world champion team to once again have an advantage on the engine side.
According to a competitor, this step forward was also possible due to a track not so stressful for the macro components of the power unit. It will be interesting to see, and Spa is already a good track for this, if Mercedes is so aggressive with its ‘unique mapping’ even on more critical tracks for the engine; While at the same time considering the allocation advantage Hamilton could have over Verstappen, if Honda’s second power unit turns out to be unusable.
According to a recent report from Formu1a.uno, Mercedes was able to could count on an advantage of 10 HP over Honda and 25 HP over Ferrari at the Hungaroring circuit in the last race ahead of the summer break. Scuderia Ferrari, as anticipated two months ago, will bring an upgrade to its power unit on the track in the second half of the 2021 Formula One season which, according to the Italian media, should halve the current gap with Mercedes. This is the most important goal of the Maranello team for the remaining champonship, in the hope that the engine for 2022 will prove to at least match, if not surpass, the Mercedes and Honda power units.
In conclusion, if to steps forward made by Mercedes on the engine side, we associate those made at Silverstone on the aerodynamic side plus the introduction of the new Pirelli rear tyres, we therefore have one more variable to be taken into account in such a sensitive Formula 1 and we can understand how this 2021 world championship is a real roller coaster. Not only of emotions, but also of performance.
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