Rarely outside of a season-opening meeting does Formula One engender such a febrile sense of anticipation as there has been around Mercedes in the buildup to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. Perhaps it was fated that it would be the streets of Monte Carlo hosting the team’s very public roll of the dice as they attempt to turn around this season and future endeavours. The stakes could not be higher.
At the start of the year there was optimism at the team. By the time the flag fell on the first race in Bahrain it had been laid waste. Way off the pace of the dominant Red Bull, whose successful interpretation of the 2022 regulation changes has delivered a car unbeaten this year, Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff’s blunt, honest reaction was indicative of how hard reality had hit.
