F1 Mid-Season Review: Mercedes - Chinks in the armour

Having dominated the 2014 season, it seemed that Mercedes were untouchable going into the new season. They knew they had the speed, so the entirety of testing was spent focusing on reliability – the one weakness of this car’s predecessor. Indeed, they finished the first race in Australia with a 1-2 finish, some 30 seconds ahead of third placed man Sebastian Vettel.

However, at the following race in Malaysia, Mercedes revealed to the paddock that they bled. Calling the strategy wrong gave the race to Ferrari; a result that very nearly repeated itself in Bahrain when both cars suffered a brake failure with two laps to go. A similar scenario reared its head in Monaco when the team pitted Lewis Hamilton and left him stuck behind Vettel.

Mercedes have had the quickest car on the grid in this first half of the season. But the Hungarian Grand Prix showed just how much they can struggle when things go against them; finishing just 6th and 8th, and once again handing the race over to Ferrari.

The team have also been struggling with poor starts in recent races which, with restrictions on start procedures beginning at the next race in Belgium, has given them more cause for concern going into the second half of the season. As if Ferrari’s upgrade package for the second half of the season wasn’t enough.

If Mercedes are to hold on to this championship, they need to keep a cool head. Recently they have been shooting themselves in the foot, and it has cost them points and allowed Vettel to close in in the driver’s championship. Only time will tell if they can fend off the prancing horse.

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