This is an excellent post and I fully agree with it. I also think they are in over their heads, but to be fair, they didn’t have much of a choice and so they are going for it, and from that point it is at least admirable. Long term they really need someone like Porsche/Volkswagen to step in (I’m sure you’d LOVE that, hahah). FWIW, the 2025 PU is essentially the current one without the MGU-H and some other tweaks to be optimized for natural aspiration. Another side note to some of the other discussion here, but since Mercedes returned as an engine manufacturer, they have always had class-leading mills. If not the best, right there at the top. They literally partnered with and eventually took over Ilmor, who was already a giant in the racing engine world at the time, and became even better. If you want a cool Ilmor-Mercedes engine story, read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_500I_engine?wprov=sfti1