At Mercedes, new developments to progress at Silverstone

Mercedes arrives at Silverstone with a host of upgrades for the W13, hoping to move closer to Ferrari and Red Bull at the British Grand Prix.

Published on 28/06/2022 à 14:43

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At Mercedes, new developments to “take a step forward” at Silverstone

Mercedes will bring a whole package of developments to Silverstone © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

It's not much of a surprise Mercedes had announced the meeting weeks ago. At Silverstone, the German team will make a whole bunch of changes to its single-seaters. Objective: to get closer to Ferrari et Red Bull during the British Grand Prix.

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' director of track engineering, details what's new on the upcoming W13. “We will not touch the sidepods but we will use different front and rear wings. There will be some changes to the floor, in addition to a few other things, explains the British engineer. But a lot of the development this year is happening under the cars, where people don't see it. This time it will be a little more obvious to those watching. »

Mercedes “optimistic” ahead of Silverstone

Mercedes had already made a big update to Barcelona, a circuit which had been very successful for the star brand. Silverstone therefore marks a 2nd stage in the development of the car silver, even if the German team's engineers continually make fixes to the W13. “We actually update the car pretty much every race, but they were quite subtle in the last few events, Shovlin admits. We've tried a few experiments, but Silverstone is one of the target events for us where we're going to bring a bigger, more visible package – and we hope to take a step forward. »

Will these new developments allow Mercedes to get closer to the two leading teams? According to Andrew Shovlin, this new package brings a lot of hope. “In past years, this team has always had the ability to make updates that worked. With these new regulations, it was not the same. We have worked very hard to understand these issues and we have made quite a bit of progress, estimates the director of track engineering at Mercedes. We are optimistic that this will be a step forward. We also hope that the circuit will suit us. » The German team must not miss its meeting at Silverstone. If the developments work, this Grand Prix could mark a turning point in their season.

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