F1
Ross Brawn: “We didn't anticipate the Mercedes concept”
Ross Brawn has admitted he didn't anticipate the Mercedes' new sidepod concept. © Florent Gooden / DPPI
It's the little surprise of the morning. Mercedes had hinted after the Barcelona tests that it would bring a significant number of updates to its W13. The brand with the star did not disappoint in this sense! This Thursday morning, the W13 of Lewis Hamilton indeed featured pontoons… almost absent! Their size has in fact been reduced to their simplest expression, with a tiny side engine cooling inlet. A very extreme philosophy which caused a lot of talk in the Bahrain paddock this Thursday morning.
—Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 10, 2022
On F1TV, which broadcasts the pre-season tests, Ross Brawn, the sporting director of Formula 1, spoke from the pit lane and did not fail to comment on the new features brought to the car Mercedes. “We did not anticipate the Mercedes concept, he admitted. In any case, it is impossible to predict how far the creativity of these teams can go. You have hundreds of engineers working on the regulations and trying to unravel all the mysteries. »
Horner prefers to kick in regarding the Mercedes
Is this new concept released by Lewis Hamilton all morning in line with the meaning of the new regulations, which aims to allow cars to follow each other and be able to overtake each other more easily? “We will investigate to ensure that the spirit of the regulation is respected. At first glance, this appears to be the case. That's my initial impression. We are not worried in terms of regulatory philosophy. In any case, it’s fascinating to see how wide the spectrum of solutions is” Brawn concluded. It also remains to be seen to what extent the chrono will validate the concept or not.
For his part, Christian Horner, the Team Principal of Red Bull, preferred not to go into too much detail regarding its Mercedes competitors. “To be completely honest, I haven't paid a whole lot of attention (a la Mercedes). It's obviously a completely different concept but it will be up to our aero staff and designers to take a look at it. We have to let the guys digest all this to understand it because it's the first time we've seen the car. Will this change the face of the game? I do not know !" he finally said a little uncomfortably, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses.
ALSO READ > Mercedes presents a W13… without pontoon!
Jeremy Satis
Great F1 reporter & passionate about promotional formulas
Read also
Comments
*The space reserved for logged in users. Please connect to be able to respond or post a comment!
0 Comment (s)
To write a comment
0 View comments)