The compromises Mercedes battled to make ‘monster diva’ W12 a winner
After a shaky start, the W12 delivered Mercedes an eighth consecutive constructors’ championship in 2021. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing’s Stuart Codling, tech bosses Mike Elliott and Hywel Thomas explain the reasons for the team’s toughest-ever title defence…
Team boss Toto Wolff famously described Mercedes’ fast-but-fractious 2017 W08 car as “a diva”. Recalling that sobriquet during the 2021 world championship run-in, Lewis Hamilton went a step further when discussing the challenges of taming the W12: “This one,” he said, “is a monster of a diva.”
For all that Hamilton dominated the 2020 season, repeating the feat, even with a carry-over car, was never going to be easy. A budget cap, new limits on in-season development, a resurgent Red Bull, a new technical ruleset on the horizon, along with new aero regulations announced relatively late in the day – all these factors would conspire to render 2021 a most perilous tightrope act.
Share Or Save This Story
Related video
F1 uncovered: A weekend behind the scenes with a team physio
Why the turbine Lotus experiment failed to realise its potential in F1
How the chief architect of McLaren's improvement plans to continue its rise
Will Monza provide Piastri with another crunch moment on Italian soil?
Why it isn't only speed that enthuses Haas about Bearman
Why Haas is a crunch barometer of F1's biggest improvers in 2024
Why comparisons between Antonelli and Verstappen go beyond their driving talent
How Shadow's F1 story ended in shambolic fashion
Ricciardo "unaware" of talk to replace him at RB mid-season
Envision retains Buemi, Frijns for Formula E despite WEC clash conundrum
MotoGP to return to Hungary in 2025 with new Balaton Park race
Magnussen: FIA "punishing ridiculous things" in "not the F1 I love"
Why Perez is so good in Baku and could still save his 2025 seat
Piastri's brilliance is both saving and causing problems for McLaren
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
The radio message Piastri “ignored” to win Baku’s three-way fight thriller
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
