Mercedes dominates but “not like in 2014”. Jock Clear: “Ferrari can recover”

Ferrari chases Mercedes Three victories including two doubles, three pole positions in three races and a lead in the two classifications that is becoming ever wider: it certainly cannot be said that Mercedes has not started the 2026 season in the best possible way, although some small technical difficulties encountered by George Russell between Shanghai and Suzuka have made the dominance less extensive than it could have been. According to the former Mercedes and Ferrari engineer, Jock Clear, however the gap is by no means irrecoverable for the pursuers and, indeed, it is almost natural to expect that the teams trying to catch up will have time and means to do so, contrary to what was seen at the beginning of the regulatory cycle with the hybrid turbo power units of 2014. Jock Clear’s opinion “There is a new regulation and Mercedes – explains Jock Clear to Ignition Casino – they came out slightly ahead, just like in 2014, but it’s not at all the dominance that, in my opinion, we saw at the time. I worked at Mercedes at the time and in the first races we didn’t even try hard in qualifying because it wasn’t necessary. Now, however, they have to give it their all, with Ferrari close enough to be able to beat them. And, of course, they know that at the start Ferrari will probably overtake them at the first corner, so they absolutely have to start from the front row. They’re trying with all their strength, but I don’t think so have more to pull out of the hat, which means we’re talking about an advantage of about three tenths of a second.” However, Clear believes that this gap is by no means irrecoverable: “In a normal year we would be talking about almost a season of development but, with the regulation as it is and the small changes underway, surely the teams will continue to fine-tune from one race to the next and will learn a lot. I predict that those three tenths will disappear quickly. Someone will make some progress in development during the season and this will reduce the gap on the grid, while I don’t see Mercedes being able to transform those three tenths into six tenths. I am much more confident that Ferrari and perhaps Red Bull can make progress and close the gap to Mercedes. With the break after Japan, there is the possibility that this will become an exciting F1 championship, with the teams having time to evaluate what they have available and develop it.”