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2. Did Mercedes gain any undue advantage?
Coming to the second issue, did the clandestine tyre test help Mercedes in any way? There are two sides to this coin as well. Let’s view them one by one.
Yes
a. Testing always helps
Just as Sebastian Vettel opined, each test kilometre is an advantage, and if we agree with him, the Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had a huge advantage over their rivals going into the Monaco Grand Prix, which Rosberg curiously won.
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b. 2013 car and drivers used
Ferrari too had conducted a similar test in April but had cleverly or conscientiously used its 2011 car and their development driver Pedro de la Rosa. Using the same car and drivers from the present season would obviously provide Mercedes an advantage.
No
a. Race results
Firstly, if the Mercedes drivers were indeed in an advantageous position due to the tyre test, what happened to that advantage in the Canadian Grand Prix where Rosberg and Hamilton finished 5th and 3rd respectively? Secondly, while Hamilton has been consistently coming 3rd to 5th in all races except the Spanish Grand Prix, Rosberg was already on an upward spiral as his finishes from the Chinese Grand Prix up to the Monaco Grand Prix will show.
b. Blind test
If the claims of Pirelli and Mercedes are true, then the entire test was conducted by the Pirelli engineers and no data was transferred between the two parties, bringing to an end any reservations about unfair advantage to Mercedes.
As is apparent from our discussion so far, the testgate incident is anything but simple as there are a lot many dimensions to it. But ending on the same note as we started this little treatise, it is after all a sport and by the time you have read this, a couple of thousands children would have been born and an equal number of people would have left this planet for their heavenly abode. The world is anything but a game after all. So go to bed and get some sleep and hopefully by the time you open your eyes again, some of my more revered compatriots would have written some even more fascinating articles on the issue. Trust me, your ordeal is anything but over.
