The French Grand Prix exemplified the deep seated problems currently plaguing Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton won, again, but what’s more interesting are his reflections following his FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting. Allow me to quote the excellent Mark Hughes: "The new regulations show great promise in simulation regarding the aerodynamics. But there’s a general feeling – expressed by Hamilton and thereby carrying some real power – that they otherwise are nowhere near radical enough. At the very least F1 needs most of the sporting penalty system ripped up and thrown away, replaced by a tough referee, one not afraid to use a black flag where appropriate. It needs a light and simple engine so the cars can be small and manoeuvrable, allowing the tyres to work. It needs a tyre war to help give competitive variation and better mechanical grip”. And, I will add, it desperately needs to get rid of the insane aerodynamics which mushroomed out of proportion over the years following the absurd introduction of the flat bottom in 1995.

The benevolent shadow of Niki Lauda was hovering over Monaco this year. His indomitable spirit no doubt accompanied Lewis Hamilton as he resisted, lap after lap, the tremendous pressure exerted by the fiery Max Verstappen, who tried all he could to pass the Mercedes which had been fitted with the wrong choice of tires. There was definitely an air of Monaco 1992, when Nigel Mansell desperately tried to take the lead from Ayrton Senna, but had to surrender in the end. Like Senna, Hamilton didn't crack under pressure.

A fifth Mercedes 1-2 in five races, on the back of their five consecutive World Championship titles… I guess that sort of sums up the situation in Formula 1. It’s a High Technology Constructor’s Championship, and the best team with the best financial resources keeps on winning, and winning… Looking down the history lane, nobody has ever been so consistently dominant, so if we want the situation to change, major changes must be implemented. As Martin Brundle wrote: “F1 must be a drivers' championship, not an engineers' tech fest. The cars must be the angriest, flightiest most challenging machines on the planet. I don't want to see teenagers jumping in them and having it all mastered by lunchtime, and fully on the pace”. Words of widom. Will the powers that be listen?
I doubt it.