Formula One: 'Magnificent Seven' titles for Mercedes; Hamilton next

Race winner Lewis Hamilton does a "shoey" with third-placed Daniel Ricciardo. Photo / Supplied

Victory for Lewis Hamilton in the inaugural Emilia Romagna GP at the Imola circuit in Italy, and another Mercedes 1-2 finish, adds up to a record seventh Constructors' title for the Mercedes team, which has dominated F1 since 2014. Two weeks ago in Portugal, Hamilton surpassed Michael Schumacher's record of 91 victories and now, with his latest win at the venue better known for hosting the San Marino GP, Hamilton has extended his total of GP victories to 93 and counting. But he was the first to admit he owes much of his success to the "unsung heroes" back at the team's factories in Brackley and Brixham.

Victory at Imola should have gone to his unlucky team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who took pole position away from Hamilton and was leading the race from a fast-starting Max Verstappen, with Hamilton third, when, on lap two, he hit debris from a Ferrari, causing damage to the floor of his Mercedes that would ultimately compromise his race. But not before Hamilton had gained the race lead by staying out much longer than either Bottas or Verstappen, and then having the benefit of a virtual safety-car enabling him to pit and retain the lead.

Hamilton is unquestionably the luckiest driver ever to sit in a racing car, given his incredible reliability record, although they say you make your own luck. His last DNF was at Austria in 2018. That reliability, not to mention superior power and performance, has enabled Mercedes not only to keep the opposition behind it, but in this Covid-19 interrupted season, extend the margin of its advantage and superiority over the other teams. To wrap up a Constructors' championship after 13 races, says it all, even though the season being shortened from a projected 22 races to 17 has mathematically aided the championship cause.

Bottas will have left Imola happy for the team but pondering his own bad luck. He won the season opener in Austria from pole position, and also won in Russia, but has failed to convert another three pole positions into victory. Those races have all gone to Hamilton, who has 9 wins from 13 races and, if he wins the remaining four races, will equal the record of 13 wins in a season currently shared by Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

Yet despite his and the team's latest success and being on the verge of a record-equalling seventh championship himself, Hamilton has hinted he might not be around in F1 next year. Another bluff from would-be poker player, Hamilton? He knows any hint he might be retiring, will garner headlines in the sporting world at least and it's most unlikely he will pass on the opportunity to chase an eighth title and 100 grand prix victories and poles next year, in a Mercedes car that will dominate again given the Covid situation means the FIA has deferred regulation changes and the budget cap, until 2022.

Like team boss Toto Wolff, Hamilton's contract expires at year-end, and he told the diminished media at Imola, who wanted to know when he and Mercedes will put pen to paper on a new contract, that he may not continue in 2021.
"I don't even know if I'm going to be here next year so it's not a concern for me at the moment," Hamilton said, trying to sound as though he meant it.
"I understand and we have had a lot of deep conversations, Toto and I, so I'm very, very aware of where he is mentally and we share and carry a lot of weight together, I think." "I've been here a long, long time. I can definitely understand wanting to pull back a bit and give more time to family and those things," he said, clearly referring to Wolff, who unlike Hamilton, is married and is a father.

"I don't know who would replace [him] but he is a leader. He's not going to put anyone that's not going to be able to do the job, not going to be up to it, who's not going to be geared up. He will find the right people."

"Naturally I feel great, I feel very strong, I feel like I could keep going for plenty of months. So, I don't know. You mentioned about Toto and shelf life, there's multiple things that do stay on the top of my mind. I would like to be here next year but there's no guarantee of that, for sure. There's a lot that excites me of the 'after-life'. So, time will tell."

It is unlikely any of his so-called rivals would shed a tear if Hamilton wasn't on the grid next year. Dominant drivers and dominant teams are seldom popular with their rivals, who won't admit to being envious, but inevitably will be. But to be fair, Hamilton does acknowledge he owes much of his success to his team.
"I look at my crew, this team here, and I know all the men and women back at the factory, back in Brackley and Brixham - they are the unsung heroes," he told Sky F1.

"They're the ones who have really grafted away and never given up, just continued to push and elevate and innovate. People watch it and might maybe think we're used to this. But it just always feels like the first with this team, and I think that's because of the spirit."

"It's unbelievable and to come back year-on-year, and while we have great performance, it's not easy to continue to deliver weekend in, weekend out," Hamilton added.

Wolff says he doesn't believe Hamilton won't be re-signing with Mercedes, but if he did decide to quit, says "I think we are going to have a pretty frantic driver market out there."

"I think it's the moment, it's the emotions. We are all happy but very tired also," he noted.

"And the same for me. I relate to his feeling that you question yourself and that you think about all the other things that matter."

Verstappen was left thinking what might have been after tumbling out of the race from second place when he had a tyre failure. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes Verstappen hit debris and suffered an "instantaneous puncture."

That meant Daniel Ricciardo in the Renault could claim third place and join the Mercedes celebration on the podium. But as we know, Ricciardo has an unusual, and clearly unhygienic practice, of drinking champagne from his racing boot, which is called doing a "shoey".

But what surprised even Ricciardo is that Hamilton joined in on the action.

"I think they [the Aussies] will be dancing because I didn't forget the shoey this time," he told Sky F1. "I was about to drink a beautiful, fresh shoey and I heard Lewis say, 'take your other shoe off.'

"I was like 'no', because honestly three years ago on the podium he goes, 'I will never ever do that, I will never drink it. You can offer but I'll never do it."

"But he asked for it today and that took me by surprise. 2020 is the year of the strange though, so it was good fun."

Ricciardo can be thankful that strangely Racing Point brought Sergio Perez in for fresh tyres late in the race just after he had inherited third place when Verstappen went out, because he knew Perez was quicker. The latter, who will be replaced by Vettel in the team that will race as Aston Martin next year, was not impressed with his team's decision.

"We put ourselves in a position to win that podium, but yeah - it is a painful day and also a painful day in the championship. We basically gave the podium to Ricciardo," Perez said.

Renault is third in the Constructors' championship, just one point ahead of McLaren and Racing Point. Arguably Alpha Tauri was the most aggressive mid-field team. Pierre Gasley, who has been retained for 2021, meaning he won't be replacing Alex Albon at Red Bull next season, had qualified a remarkable fourth and was running fifth on lap 9 when he had to retire with a coolant leak. But his team-mate Danii Kvyat than took up the cudgel, and eventually finished fourth on a circuit the drivers loved, but also lamented because of the difficulty in overtaking. Kvyat was right behind Ricciardo at the end of the race but couldn't get past, which was just as well for the shoey fans watching back in Australia.

The next race is in Istanbul, Turkey, another event that will enjoy a brief comeback in a race calendar ravaged by Covid-19. Europe is currently in the midst of a second outbreak of coronavirus, so it is quite extraordinary that F1 has been able to hold 13 races to date. But the hopes of the Turkish organisers to have crowds attend their event have been dashed by the latest outbreak. Hamilton will be crowned champion for a seventh time if he wins and Bottas scores 10 points or fewer. But for now, the celebrations will be with the "unsung heroes" at the Mercedes factories who have propelled Mercedes to a "magnificent seven" consecutive Constructors' championships.