Bit of a rant incoming but Iāve been struggling to put this to words
The problem Mercedes have had in the past couple months is theyāve hit an unstoppable force (fan frustration at their behaviour) and decided to be an immovable object (refuse to accept their view and thus do anything to change their behaviour), an insane stance when anyone who watched the McLaren debacle from last year would know it doesnāt work.
The frustration Mercedes has, is to them, theyāve done nothing wrong. And itās logically, itās likely true, favouring a driver does them almost no favours, and teams donāt make mistakes on purpose because it costs them money. If youāre Bradley Lord, deputy team boss, you cannot fathom people thinking you would willingly lose the chance at the constructors prize at the end of the year. Mercedes LOVES money. Theyāve also cultured George for years, and there IS a lot going on behind the scenes we will never get to see, in terms of inner support.
But because to them, what fans are saying isnāt true, theyāve completely refused to engage with the fact itās the way THEY BEHAVED that made fans feel that way, and theyāve refused to make any changes to curtail it, and just keep talking down to them. Double empathy is hardā itās hard for people to empathise with others who have had a different experience to them, and we donāt want to empathise with them when they donāt ever take steps to empathise with us. Continuing to tell fans āyouāre wrongā doesnāt tackle the root feeling, and just makes them madder.
You canāt keep telling fans āhey youāre insane for thinking we donāt like Georgeā when your team principle slags him off in interviews, you canāt keep a story straight about the problems with his car (is it wind is it battery deployment is it balance is it George), heās both unlucky but suddenly his luck has only been bad once compared to poor Kimi, you let Kimi mouth off to Italian media and then let said Italian media insult George in ways that damn near justify a boycott, you donāt show up VISIBLY for podiums, you send your team principle out on Antonelliās Win but for Georgeās win he doesnāt even get the guy he requested, Georgeās home race merch collection is the other drivers colours, Kimi is made a focus at Georgeās home race, and your social media strategy is so bad because itās trying to be a quirky brand pop star account and not what it needs to be right now, more locked down than a politicians mid election.
None of these things mean that Mercedes hate George, but theyāre the ONLY public image theyāre presenting. When the only puzzle pieces your hand fans are the worst parts, you canāt be surprised when they put them together and assume thatās the entire picture. Telling them theyāre idiots for not getting that thereās more that you never showed them, doesnāt get them to go āgosh youāre right mister, gee wizzā, it gets them telling you to fuck off under every post.
As someone whose previous title was head of communications, youād think Bradley would KNOW all this.
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