People were talking about brain drain at Mercedes back in 2020 I think, or 2021? When a bunch of engineers left due to a combination of forced personnel cuts due to budget cap and a bunch being poached by Red Bull and Aston Martin.

Looks like we are starting to see the effects of it. Third year running with massive correlation errors at Merc? Not a good look.

This all leaves me very excited for 2026 and onwards. If the rumors are to be believed, Mercedes is on course to have a very potent engine for 2026, while Red Bull's isn't quite there yet. With chassis/aero it seems to be vice-versa and Ferrari seems to be getting better at chassis/aero while also having a very potent engine. All bets are off.

Wow. Hamilton has jumped ship at the right time

I think it got clear in pre-season when they tested this in the simulator. It seems to me that Mercedes really has issues how to deal with the ground effects of the car. I've seen Ferrari also being bouncy (one of Mercedes problems) but are still very quick. Also the back of the Mercedes is not stable they say, which is one of the reasons Lewis in particular lacks the confidence.

He may have jumped ship to Ferrari, but keep in mind that like Verstappen, Leclerc like a loose back and pointy front, which will cause oversteer. So I am not entirely sure what Lewis preference is, but he may have a similar issue when he joins Ferrari.

The lack of confidence is actually quite clear to see, since Russell seems to be more at ease with the way the car behaves than Lewis.

Could have ended that headline after the second word 😔.

Ouch!