SAKHIR, Bahrain – Mercedes has brought a significant upgrade to its 2022 Formula One car in time for the second pre-season test in Bahrain.
Driven by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on Thursday morning, the car featured tiny sidepod inlets and a completely redesigned engine cover.
Sidepods have become a big differentiator in car design this year, with Ferrari running a wide boxy design with a concave upper surface and Red Bull featuring raised inlets above a dramatic undercut.
However, Mercedes’ concept is arguably the most extreme solution of the lot, with very small air inlets either side of the cockpit and a sloping sidepod that appears to exist separately from the upper side-impact crash structure on which the wing mirrors are mounted. It also features two sets of louvres cut into each sidepod to help with cooling.
The design is unique on this year’s grid and is likely to become the focus of rivals’ attention, with an Auto Motor und Sport story quoting Red Bull boss Christian Horner on Thursday morning questioning its legality.
A few hours later, Red Bull issued a statement saying: “Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes’ car.
“Any quotes being attributed to him this morning are incorrect.”
In 2019 Mercedes employed a similar tactic to testing, bringing a basic car to the first test to run system checks and gather preliminary data before bringing a more extreme design to the second test. The team went on to dominate both drivers’ and constructors’ championships that year.