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The driver problems facing Mercedes in 2021

Ahead of the new Formula 1 season, reigning world champions Mercedes will take on challenges both old and new. This also can be said for its driver conundrum which could become key to sustaining its ongoing success

Mercedes has created one of the most harmonious and successful driver line-ups on the Formula 1 grid.

In percentage terms among the top seven squads in the 2020 constructors' championship (the regular points scorers), the balance between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas was 35.73% from the world champion's final total of 347. This of course doesn't show the potential points Bottas lost to poor fortune last year, and Hamilton missed the chance to add to his haul with his Sakhir Grand Prix absence after contracting COVID-19. But it still adds up to the smallest gap between team-mates last year (McLaren's Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris were closest on 7.62%, while Ferrari had the biggest gap - 66.33 between Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel).

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