Formula 1 Insider: Paddock Feeling that FIA Changed Rules to Stop Mercedes Dominance
Despite winning their 8th constructor's championship in 2021, Mercedes has been experiencing a level of disappointments that relatively unexpected so soon after their decade of dominance.
Sky Sports Formula 1 Insider, Ted Kravitz claims that there is a "reasonably commonly held opinion in the paddock" that the FIA introduced a new set of design requirements in order to put a stop to Mercedes dominance.
“There is a reasonably commonly held opinion among some people in the paddock that they only changed the rules, or part of the reason why they changed the rules, was to stop Mercedes dominance,” Kravitz said.
With the way Mercedes disappointed in Bahrain and Toto Wolff basically throwing in the towel with the current W14, it looks like the FIA's plans have worked and Mercedes are in a situation where they will need to catch up to the rest of the field.
The ray of light is that Aston Martin, the new Cinderella of the Formula 1 scene, is a Mercedes customer, so the power is there to compete, now it's up to the engineers to figure out the rest of it.