The old ‘enemies’ were at it again when Formula One rolled into Montreal last weekend. Words were exchanged in the long-running battle between the arch-rivals which formed during the years of Mercedes’s dominance.

Then when the tables turned following the FIA 2022 car design regulations the tables were turned and it was Red Bull who were on top. During that season, Mercedes had poorly designed their suspension and the car was bouncing such that :ewis’ Hamilton could barely extract himself from the W13 following the chequered flag at the Azerbaijan Grind Prix.

 

 

 

The most public of RBR v Mercedes battles

Mercedes and its drivers were lobbying the FIA for an exceptional in season ruling which would aid them in their plight but also hurt their rivals who were running for their first team title since 2013.

“I can tell you that all of you are playing a dangerous game. “If a car ends the wall, because it is too stiff or it is bottoming out, you are in the s**t and I’m gonna come after you,” Toto Wolf threatened in a team principal’s meeting captured by Netflix cameras.

“Change your car. You’ve got a problem, change your f**king car,” was the angry repose from Christian Horner,. To which Toto retired back: “Then you change your car because Checo has been saying the car is f**ked.”

This is just one of the long line of hearted exchanges in the media, the paid have had over the years. Having failed to win in Miami and Monaco, Red Bull were concerned coming into the Montreal weekend given the circuit has the high aggressive kerbs the RB20 did not like las time out in the principality.

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Allison mocks Red Bull upgrade

Mercedes on the other hand were bullish, they had upgraded the car now for both drivers and Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time by an F1 mile in Q3, when he topped the time sheets some 0.4 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. With the world champions H

having lost two of the last three races, James Allison, Mercedes technical director, had quipped coming into the Canadian GP that it appeared the Red Bull “upgrade” brought in Imola had in fact been a “downgrade.”

Then on track, performance from Hamilton initially and then Russell who qualified on pole with a time identical to Verstappen saw Mercedes’ confidence rise even higher and Allison’s claims were raised by the media.

Commenting on Red Bull’s flight in recent events, Allison gave his opinion on the current work from the Milton Keynes squad. “I guess as soon as there’s a decent range of cornering speeds, they’ll [Red Bull] be useful again, but it does look as if their upgrade was a downgrade,” he said.

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Horner hits back

“So fingers crossed that will really f*** them up,” said Alison with a smile, before observing: “That makes life hard because the moment you stop trusting your tools, you have to backtrack, and you lose loads of time.”

Sunday came and hopes were high for A George Russel win in the silver arrows camp after all six of the last seven races on the Isle de Notre Damn had been won from pole. Yet the weather gods intervened and Russell and Lando Norris were reflecting what might have been in the chaotic wet/dry race.

Verstappen claimed victory and given their low self expectations, Red Bull and Horner were suitably booed by the result. When asked  about the car by assembled media, Christian understandably took the time to revel in his old enemy’s misfortunes.

“Well, even with our downgrade, we managed to beat their upgrade,” the Red Bull boss almost hissed. “So it was a rewarding race to win.” He went on to explain their surprise strong performance in Montreal would prove his team is back which is trouble for Toto Wolff and Mercedes.

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Red Bull boss questions Mercedes true pace

“I think Mercedes have always gone very well on green circuits, and there were no real high-speed corners here, so with the asphalt change, it played possibly to their strengths,” Horner  explained as the reason for Hamilton’s ‘wonder lap’ in Q3 and Russells pole position and strong showing in the race.

Whether this was a flash in the pan or not Horner suggests we wait before coming to rash conclusions. “So I think, let’s see over the next two or three tracks if it’s genuine form or if it’s a one-off.”

The next time out in Barcelona will reveal how well the Mercedes’ car has really developed. The circuit has been used for testing for years and is described as the best aerodynamic test on a Formula One car, given it provides the entire rage of challenges required for this assessment.

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With the kerbs mostly flat, the RB20 will not have any problems with its suspension and should be the class of the field for the weekend. In his all conquering RB19 ;last year at the Circuit de Catalunya, Max Verstappen blitzed the field in qualifying over half a second ahead of his nearest rival. Then in the race the world champion cruised to victory just under 25 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton who had Russell close behind for company.

Ferrari had a shocking time in Canada with both cars failing to make the final qualifying session. Then in the race both drivers struggled and eventually the red cars were retied making there event the first tie since Australia 2023 where the Scuderia left pointless.

The gap between leaders Red Bull and their closest rivals Ferrari has grown to 49 points, a gap which should have been larger but Sergio Perez failed to score points again, despite having been handed a shiny new contract for potentially the next two years.

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Hamilton totally disguste

While Mercedes celebrated their first podium of the 2024 season and their best result of the year, Lewis Hamilton was far from happy after the Canadian Grand Prix. In a season marked by ups and downs, the Canadian Grand Prix was a mixed bag for Lewis Hamilton, the British former champion seemingly disgusted with his performance in Canada.

While Mercedes celebrated their first podium of the 2024 Formula One season, Hamilton’s fourth-place finish left the seven-time world champion deeply unsatisfied. Hamilton’s critical self-assessment revealed a driver who felt he had fallen short of his true potential over the weekend… READ MORE