Mercedes took home the plaudits, following a brilliant and dominant display. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished first and second, respectively.
Going into the race at Imola, Mercedes only needed 11 points to secure yet another Constructors’ Championship title. And with the results they achieved, they clinched their seventh title on the trot, following a run that has stretched on from 2014 onwards.
It has led to some people wondering whether this current Mercedes side are one of the best teams in F1 history. After all, they did overtake Ferrari’s record of 6 straight Constructors’ titles.
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Mercedes deserve everything they have achieved, says Ross Brawn
In a way, current F1 Managing Director Ross Brawn has played a vital role in Mercedes’ success. The year 2010 was when the German manufacturer took over the team, originally known as ‘Brawn GP’.
Writing in his column, Brawn said, “Mercedes are going through a stunning period since 2014 and on Sunday, they took away a record which I was personally involved in during my time at Ferrari.
“When you achieve those things, you know that one day it may be broken. They deserve everything they have achieved. Congratulations to Toto for being such a great leader, their drivers for delivering and Mercedes for having the vision.”
Brawn was also, of course, one of the core team members in a dominant period for Scuderia Ferrari. He was instrumental in the Italian giants’ command over the competition that saw them win 6 titles in a row from 1999 to 2004.
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Is the team’s success sustainable for the long term?
The words ‘long term’ might actually sound like a long shot, considering the 2022 regulation changes are just around the corner. Mercedes will feel that they have done enough to cement their legacy as a leading F1 team.
But somewhere, the benefit of the overall running of Formula 1 as a sport, also needs to be looked at. Having one team sweep away all the titles every season, only strives to make viewers less interested in watching predictable results and utter dominance.
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Therefore, 2022 represents a landmark year for Mercedes, as other teams launch an assault to catch up to them. Whether they will be successful in doing so, is something that only time will tell.