The 271 seconds that should worry Mercedes' rivals
We're not used to bullish statements from Mercedes, so a comment from one of the four-time reigning Formula 1 champion team's senior figures should have its rivals preparing to play catch-up
Formula 1 teams know that in a championship where they face the media spotlight so much, it's always better to under-promise and over-deliver. Being too cocky only ever comes back to haunt you.
British American Racing never really made up for designer Adrian Reynard's bold aim to win its first race. Ron Dennis was never allowed to forget his conviction that he would have no problems taming Juan Pablo Montoya like a "stallion".
Share Or Save This Story
Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
More from Jonathan Noble
Hulkenberg set for Audi switch after Haas departure revealed
Red Bull’s F1 rivals facing 2027 wait if they want Newey
McLaren needs to understand puzzling “up and down” F1 form - Piastri
The F1 hero to zero dividing line that has never been so thin
Mercedes taking action to cure F1 car's “underlying balance” problem
Why Audi and Verstappen have complicated Formula 1’s driver market decisions
‘Metronomic’ Verstappen may rule F1, but it won’t last forever - Horner
RB brands Ricciardo/Tsunoda Chinese GP crashes “unnecessary”
Latest news
Hulkenberg set for Audi switch after Haas departure revealed
MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix: Start time, how to watch and more
Red Bull’s F1 rivals facing 2027 wait if they want Newey
The plot twist that gave Arrow McLaren’s Ward his first IndyCar win as team principal
Autosport Plus
The F1 hero to zero dividing line that has never been so thin
How Stroll and Magnussen revealed the scale of F1’s racing and rules problems
Did F1's new sprint format work?
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.