So the fact that others can’t, or are unable, to gather sponsors to compete are a reason to again criticise Mercedes?
And to be clear, I’m a McLaren fan, but I can’t abide this Merc hate when the other teams haven’t stepped up.
And of course in the same era of Merc dominance Ferrari, the most recognised name in F1 and therefore in a position to gather a big war chest, couldn’t compete is another indictment on the opposition, not on Mercedes.
Its bloody boring watching Mercedes win title and WC championships for getting on a decade, but it’s up to others to take the fight to them.
Just like it’s up to 17 AFL teams to take it up to Richmond next year.
A privateer team trying to sell sponsors a dream is no match for a fully backed factory team. When Mercedes launched the team they did it with their own money. Formula 1 is just so complex now that the days of privateer teams being at the front end of the field and covering their costs with sponsors and the income distribution model are long gone. Teams need a supply of money from outside of the sport, like a factory backing that will spend million after million without blinking, or a multi-billion dollar multinational like Red Bull. Sponsorships and revenue distributions only favour the top teams, once a team drops into the back half of the grid on a regular basis these revenue streams diminish even faster and the team drops off a cliff, unless they have an external source of money to prop them up again.