The mistakes Mercedes cannot afford to make in F1 2021
OPINION: After clinching the last seven Formula 1 world title doubles, Mercedes of course heads into the 2021 season as the overwhelming favourite. But there are still distinct hurdles it must clear to keep that streak alive
Make no mistake, Mercedes heads into the 2021 Formula 1 season - whenever and wherever that will get underway given the pandemic's ongoing uncertainty - as the overwhelming favourite.
By winning the last seven world title doubles, the team has already shown it can cope with major and minor regulation changes during that run, but there are pitfalls it must nevertheless avoid in 2021. These are in addition to taking onboard the lessons from the operational mistakes it made last year, which cost Mercedes victories at Monza and in the Sakhir race.
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Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.
A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.
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