“Honda has climbed Everest since returning to Formula 1.” In this way Mercedes boss Toto Wolff express his appreciation for the progress made by the Japanese giant regarding the power unit. Hinda returned to Formula One six years ago by deciding to face the new power unit challenge, given an engines regulation that began in 2014 which saw Mercedes take off with a clear advantage over its main competitors Ferrari and Renault. The Anglo-German team has won all the titles during the turbo-hybrid era, but in this 2021 it faces a real threat represented by Max Verstappen and the Red Bull RB16-B powered by the RA621H power unit. Red Bull managed to win seven of the 12 races from the 2021 Formula 1 season so far, with Max Verstappen being the first non-Mercedes driver to achieve more than five victories in a championship despite not being a Mercedes driver. Verstappen surpassed the five victories recorded by Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari in 2017 and 2018.
In that two-year period, the German and the Maranello teams were fighting for the title up to two thirds of the season: “In 2017 we adapted to the new rules better than everyone” – Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto interviewed by Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. In the last two years, however, the performance of the Italian side has dropped significantly: “In 2020 there were regulatory clarifications on the engines that had a very important impact on us and then, due to the freeze caused by Covid, we could not correct those weaknesses of the car that emerged once it hit the track” – Mattia Binotto explained.
2021 is reserving surprises and in addition to the world championship duel between Mercedes and Red Bull, other teams have used opportunities to win as Alpine did in Hungary or to get on the podium as happened on Sunday in Belgium when George Russell with Williams celebrated second place thanks to an impressive performance in qualifying. Scuderia Ferrari is looking forward to 2022, the year in which Mattia Binotto wants to see his team return to fighting for ambitious goals: “In 2022 we want to be competitive again. It does not mean that we have to win the title at any cost, but to continue improving in order to be in a position to fight for victories” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
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