The Formula 1 championship is fought mainly behind the scenes

Long-time Formula 1 ruler Mercedes has an unexpectedly strong opponent:: the Red Bull of Max Verstappen with strong support from fellow driver Sergio Pérez. This has brought an extraordinary nervousness that has awakened behind-the-scenes tensions of long-unseen proportions.

Both have three wins but only one leads the world championship standings. And it’s the one who was less expected: Max Verstappen of Red Bull has 131 points, his biggest rival and defending champion, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, has twelve points less.

In the Formula 1 series, this is a surprising development. Teams have significantly limited options in terms of car and engine performance. And since Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had no serious competition in last year’s season, cut short by the pandemic, it was to be expected that this year would be very similar.

But in fact, Mercedes and Hamilton are under enormous pressure and after seven Grands Prix this season, almost a third of the way through, it’s fair to say that this year’s title fight is the most evenly matched since 2012, when Sebastian Vettel (then at Red Bull) and Fernando Alonso (then at Ferrari) were rivals until the last moment.

Yes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg also fought each other until the last race in 2016, but those were drivers from the same team.

It goes without saying that this year’s title will not be decided until the last race, which should be a record twenty-third in a single season. But that’s what everyone involved thinks. Max Verstappen, after the freshest battle, says: “And this is how it’s going to be all year.”

This has resulted in nervousness. Not so much with Red Bull, because it has nothing to lose and is perhaps a little surprised at the chance it is being offered. The nervousness has got to the Mercedes team. And you can see it both on and off the track. That is, if the minor hesitations that decide whether or not a driver and his team win can be called a mistake.

The past seven Grands Prix have also been raced on the streets, specifically in Monaco and Baku, Azerbaijan. Mercedes were no match for Red Bull in performance there, but Hamilton still had a chance to win in Baku when Verstappen blew a tyre late in the race.

Only Hamilton set his car up wrong for the final restart and dropped all the way to the end, so he didn’t score at all. In France, Mercedes trusted their systems enough to win without a doubt. But he still lost it because the data from the systems that Mercedes trusted was wrong. In other words, Mercedes’ systems predicted that Hamilton would hold the lead even if he stopped in the pits for a fresh set of tyres. But that didn’t happen. And it only took a difference of half a second to do it!

Each team’s formula works differently on different circuits because it has weaknesses and strengths. So, for example, if Mercedes is slower on the city circuit in Monaco or Baku, it can be faster on a conventional circuit like the one in France at Le Castellet.

But to everyone’s surprise, that hasn’t happened. Even there, Mercedes pulled the short end of the stick, albeit narrowly. And Red Bull boss Christian Horner said before the race: “ If we can beat Mercedes here, then we can beat Mercedes everywhere.” And that’s what happened.

And that’s why we’ve seen something that we haven’t seen in Formula One for a very long time. A behind-the-scenes policy to point out the slightest transgression of the rival and destabilise it. And that transgression may not even be a specific transgression, but rather an “impression”.

Mercedes’ impression that the rear wing on the Red Bull formula is flexing “too much”. Despite passing all the prescribed tests. But the sports commissioners of the grand prix hear Mercedes’ nervousness and tighten up the tests.

Or Mercedes boss Toto Wolff complains about how Honda’s new Red Bull engine is stronger in France. Carmakers can’t “improve” engines during the season in terms of performance, but they can strengthen reliability, for example. But Mercedes believes the new Honda engine is “stronger” in the Red Bull.

Or Mercedes accuses Red Bull of somehow managing to lower tyre pressures during the race itself, even if it shows the right level of pressure before the start of the grand prix. And that will make the car faster.

That’s also allegedly why Max Verstappen crashed in Baku. And the sporting commissaires have tightened controls again. Mercedes is also complaining about how the air guns used to loosen and tighten the wheel nuts are too powerful.

Mercedes has no experience with such a strong opponent. The behind-the-scenes details weren’t so important before because Mercedes won relatively easily. But Mercedes doesn’t have that kind of dominance at this stage of the season, and it’s grabbing every opportunity to weaken and frustrate its rivals. And that’s not happening. The nervousness continues and it doesn’t look like it’s going to ease.