F1 Rumours: Mercedes Makes Huge Controversial Change To Car For Bahrain Testing
After the team found aerodynamic issues during the first testing session of the 2022 F1 calendar, Mercedes is now rumoured to have made huge changes to its car for its Bahrain debut.
‘Porpoising’ had countless teams sweating as they wrestled with huge regulation changes and the addition of ground effect downforce during Barcelona testing. With symptoms including the cars bouncing around the track, many drivers were afraid that this could lead to be incredibly dangerous, but if these rumours are true, Mercedes has found a way of getting around this.
According to an Italian news outlet, the Mercedes will have its sidepods removed entirely, with a new innovative radiator setup to match. These upgrades are reportedly going to take a second off each lap, making the Mercedes a truly unstoppable car even against Red Bull which is promising major upgrades itself.
#F1: *these are just rumors and none of the claims have been verified by any other source*
Corriere Della Serra reports that Mercedes will bring a completely revolutionized W13 in Bahrain, with no sidepods. 👇🏽
— deni (@fiagirly) March 8, 2022
Teams are rumoured to be protesting against this change and fans of the sport have already started questioning the move from Mercedes.
One fan wrote:
“If the Merc are a second faster, more people will stop watching than those that felt disgusted at AD. This is ridiculous. FIA, keep it even. Like the fan car, some things need to be snuffed out for the sake of a sensible competition.”
Another added:
“I’d say its kind of impossible to bring a car with no sidepods , how would they find space to cool the engine?”
A third posted:
“If Mercedes turn up to Bahrain testing with no sidepods I will stop watching F1.”
If Mercedes turn up to Bahrain testing with no sidepods I will stop watching F1 https://t.co/kKluIj43wK
— Dave (@dvddtn2202) March 8, 2022
This could certainly bring some drama to the second run of testing, and we’re very excited.
