All eyes are once again on Mercedes and its innovative concept.
The Mercedes team has brought to the Bahrain tests an important evolution of the single-seater that it presented almost a month ago and all eyes have pointed to its new concept. The car that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will drive this season has been updated with radical sidepods.
This important novelty, which is obvious just by looking at a photograph of the Bahrain tests, has caused some ‘fear’ in the rest of the teams that aspire to be in the fight for the title this year. More than fear of the Mercedes team, it is feared that some team has found a solution that allows it to make a difference from the beginning of the season.
VIDEO: The changes in the 2022 regulations explained by Mercedes
With the new sidepod concept unveiled on the fourth day of pre-season testing, Mercedes is looking to increase its aerodynamic efficiency in this area of the car and also gain more grip through ground effect.
The usual large front air intake has disappeared and is now much narrower, so the position of the radiators has been changed. At the same time, on the side of the cockpit, two curious wings have been installed that, according to Christian Horner, director of Red Bull, go against the F1 regulations.
The German team will have to do numerous tests on the track to validate the operation of this new concept and ensure that they can start the season with it without compromising critical elements such as cooling.
In Mercedes they are aware that risks must be taken to make a difference in a regulation as ‘limited’ as the one that opens this year. It’s not the first time they’ve done it. Without going any further, a couple of years ago they released the DAS system that gave so much to talk about and that was banned after 2020.
The fact of taking risks does not, however, prevent other teams from protesting the solutions adopted. One of the teams that has complained that the new Mercedes concept could be illegal is Red Bull, which would have asked the FIA for a review of the renewed Mercedes W13.
Even Ross Brawn himself, sporting director of F1, has admitted that Mercedes has surprised them with an “extreme interpretation of the regulations”. The British is convinced that there will be a great debate, and although he assures that the solutions adopted by Mercedes will be reviewed, he thinks that they do not violate any rule.
If the Mercedes receives the definitive approval from the FIA technicians, the rest of the teams will launch themselves to imitate the risky concept of the star team, as long as it is seen to work on the track, since at least in On the first day of testing the riders in the formation were far behind.
Even so, as we well know, Mercedes is a great expert in hiding its cards so as not to give clues to its rivals before the start of the season… It will not be the first time that they hide in the tests and then win the first race.
