Why Mercedes is fronting up to its F1 mistakes too much

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Mar 13, 2023, 4:23 PM

OPINION: Having slipped away from regular victory contention as its dominance of Formula 1 came to an end, Mercedes’ public self-criticism reached new heights in an open letter published last weekend. And, while self-reflection should be valued in F1, the team appears to be overdoing it

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Picture this: it's a lazy Saturday between Formula 1 races. For many, it's a chance to wake up too late, to sit on the sofa with a mug of Colombian single-origin coffee in front of Saturday Kitchen, or to clog up the Tesco aisles with ill-parked trolleys and indecision.

In the case of others, the daily grind continues through the weekend in the non-stop world of modern living. After all, someone's got to scan the oven chips and weigh the vegetables in the supermarket. Someone's got to man the news desk on your favourite website, or present live television at sporting events (Match of the Day notwithstanding). And, apparently, someone's got to publish the public letter of apology from events a week prior.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.