Just like in the mid 2000s when Formula 1 was being called all sorts of things because of the dominance of one team and driver namely, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher and from 2010-2013 with Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, the signs are pointing to history repeating itself but only this time with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.

This may not necessarily be a bad thing. Just like in the mid 2000s, we are witnessing history being made. Mercedes and Hamilton are powering through this turbo-hybrid era and are doing so by being clinical, relentless and ruthless.

Just coming away from the French Grand Prix in the south of France, we head north-ish over to the Styrian Mountains to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg Austria for round 9 of the Formula 1 World Championship.

Ferrari’s Mountain

It’s been hit and miss with Ferrari for the past few races. Ever since Barcelona they’ve been floundering almost directionless on which direction to take their car. It’s clear for everyone to see where the weakness of the Ferrari lies. The slow corners. The SF90 does not have the mechanical grip coming out of the corners. It’s a trade off the design team has made. It has not worked. Team Boss Mattia Binotto has said in the week that they will sacrifice some straight line speed for some down force in the corners.

They’ve brought some parts to the French Grand Prix of which some have not worked. Binotto intimated that it was part of a two race-weekend evaluation where they will be looking at more parts this weekend. It wont be a quick fix and we can expect Ferrari to lag behind Mercedes for a few more races.

McLaren-Renault 

As this season has progressed, a quiet yet intense battle is raging between the works Renault team and McLaren who are running Renault PU’s. It wont look good for Renault that a customer team is doing better than them at their own game. Currently McLaren are on 40 points in the constructors championship with Renault on 32. Expect this gap to yo-yo as the season progresses. This battle will be just as intense as if it were a championship battle and could come down to the last race of the season to see who finishes ahead.

Renault are looking like they are turning the corner after the very slow start to the season. Both the Renault drivers are finding their way with the car and are getting comfortable.

McLaren who have always been there, seem to be hitting their stride now with their two drivers performing well.

Much attention is given to the front of the grid and Ferrari’s troubles, the battle for the upper mid field is quite intense and will only get more exciting as the season progresses.

The Red Bull Ring

We return once again to the Red Bull Ring. The home to the Red Bull F1 team and Toto Wolff. Last year, Max Verstappen took victory in the race in front of the home crowd but can he repeat his performance this year? It’s unlikely as the Mercedes juggernaut is expected to be strong again this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas’ performances of late have been very subdued compared to his start of the season performances. In the previous years Bottas did well around the Red Bull ring and he is once again expected to give Hamilton a run for his money. We wait and see what will transpire from this.

The layout of the Red Bull Ring does favour the characteristics of the Ferrari SF90. With three long straights the Ferrari will be quick but the middle sector with the technical sections might drop time to the Mercedes and perhaps Red Bulls. The other thing to watch for at Ferrari is the internal battle between Leclerc and Vettel.

After a weekend to forget in France, Haas will be looking to make something of this weekend. Most of the issues Haas have been experiencing have been tyre related where the team just cannot get the very peaky 2019 Pirelli tyres in the window, something Mercedes has been doing exceptionally well.

With the Mercedes domination this season, we could start looking at by which race will Hamilton take the drivers title and by which race will Mercedes wrap up the constructors title. Ferrari could slow them down, but that’s all they can do. In the mean time, we can appreciate the history being made.