2014-2016, Mercedes dominated but didn’t have development asymmetry between their drivers, which meant you saw good racing and battles between the team. From 2017-2018, part of 2019, and in 2021, they did not have the best car, they but still dominated in the first 3 of those years because their driver and team outclassed the competition.

What’s happening now is only comparable to the Schumacher Ferrari years where a car is tailored to one driver and that car is light years ahead of the competition. It makes for a very boring spectacle. 2020 was similar with Mercedes, not for the development asymmetry but because Hamilton was clearly the superior driver over Bottas.

Yes Verstappen is much better than Perez, but everyone from Marko to Albon have stated Red Bull develop their cars to suit Verstappen. That’s never happened at Mercedes, but it was the case in the Schumi Ferrari years when he would get 10x the practice time of his teammates and newer parts.