Mercedes Remember Their Nightmare Race in Germany and Welcome Netflix to the Team for the Russian GP

Mercedes dominating the F1 circuit for a number of years now. Returning as full constructors in 2010, the team initially finished in the top half of the standings. But as the turbo-hybrid era kicked off in 2014, the German manufacturers were keen to make their mark.

So they did, with 6 Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles to show for it. But despite their dominance, they do not particularly hold an excellent record with one entity – and that is Netflix!

Mercedes did not have the best of times in ‘Drive To Survive’

The Mercedes’ official account posted on Twitter to showcase what happened the last time Netflix covered an episode on them. The post contained pictures of Bottas and Hamilton’s cars being towed away after suffering separate crashes.

It is captioned, “Excited to welcome the Netflix crew back into the team for this weekend’s #RussianGP. Let’s hope this time around our episode is a LITTLE less dramatic than last season…”

The 37-minute-long episode highlights the way Mercedes paid fitting tributes to the legendary Niki Lauda. But in addition, it also showcases the team’s struggles on a rain-soaked Hockenheim track.

Mercedes were celebrating their 125th anniversary in motorsport at what was their ‘home race’. The occasion started off with many celebrations, with the staff getting decked up in the 1950s clothing. But the day only got worse for the team as the race began.

A weekend to forget for the Silver Arrows

It started off with Lewis Hamilton catching the flu doing the rounds in the paddock. But such was Hamilton’s grit, that he qualified in pole position for the race despite not being fully fit. However, after making an impressive start, the rain poured cold water all over his plans.

The lack of grip on the track saw Hamilton take considerable damage to the front wing around the penultimate corner. And for the severity of the changes, Lewis lost a lot of places during the pit stop.

He eventually finished the race in 11th place and was promoted to 10th by virtue of a penalty to cars up ahead. Valtteri Bottas who was driving well in P4 also lost control and crashed into the barriers, which forced him to retire the car.

Everything that could go wrong for Mercedes on that day, did go wrong. Mercedes will hope that they don’t suffer the same fate in Sochi. They are already in a commanding position this season and are most likely to win the Constructors’ Championship.

Hopefully this time, Netflix can capture Mercedes’ good side.