One of the things I love about F1 is the irreverent humor of the paddock and the fans. Apt nicknames like de Crasheris, John What's Wrong (Watson) and Alain Prost's early moniker of Tadpole (little Frog, see?) give a rare insight into the humanity of the teams, the workhorse mechanics who are faceless but also an essential part of a team's success or failure.
Lewis Hamilton
Interestingly, all three of the examples that sprang to my mind emanate from the old McLaren team, Teddy Mayer's boys. Since Big Ron bought out the team in the early eighties, there has been less of that sort of humor in the sport and so it was a welcome relief to see Haug described as "chubby Norbert" by a commenter on Keith Collantine's blog, F1 Fanatic, this morning.
Which brings me to my point. Herr Haug is Mercedes' representative in the McLaren team, the other side of the coin from Ron Dennis, and so an important contributor to the ethos of the team. "Chubby" descibes him so neatly, not only physically but also in character, that I am forced to smile in recognition. Yet this is hardly the image that we expect Mercedes to project; of all German companies, Mercedes needs to be seen as powerful and efficient, the epitome of all that is German.
So I find it strange that the company has been so patient in its relationship with McLaren. For years they have been on the brink of winning a championship but somehow it eludes them at the last and it might have been expected that the company's need for success would have driven the board to take things into their own hands by now. Rumors of a Mercedes buy out of McLaren have abounded for some time but still Haug smiles his way through the questions, explaining just how happy they are with their results so far.
Is this really the same company that entered GP racing in the thirties and fifties to win everything in sight? Where is the juggernaut that used to raid the cupboard and escape with all the silverware?
The answer to this conundrum lies in the state of the sport in our modern age. No longer is it possible for a giant to enter the fray and crush all opposition with superior (and costly) technology - F1 truly is at the edge of technical development and, as Toyota are finding, it is a matter of new entrants catching up, rather than showing how it's done.
I give Mercedes full credit for their understanding and foresight in this; they studied the game before entering this time and swiftly came to the conclusion that they would not be able to dominate from the word go. And they have been clever in their approach, choosing a team with similar ideals to their own to be the bearer of their engine expertise. But the best part of the deal in their eyes is that they also have a scapegoat if domination does not follow (as it has not, to date); failure is a team matter and hardly their fault.
The rumors of a takeover continue to rumble in the background, even so. The Stepney/Coughlan scandal was so damaging to McLaren's image that one might have expected Mercedes to seize the moment and emerge as sole proprietor of the McLaren Empire. Yet still Chubby Norbert smiles his way through, the gentle giant that affirms the eternal harmony of the joint Anglo German effort.
No doubt there will come a time when the team becomes German-owned but it is not yet and may not be for a few years to come. Devilishly clever, these Germans.