Toto Wolff DOUBTS new car… but why did Mercedes stick by old shape?
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expresses DOUBTS on whether their 2023 car can carry Lewis Hamilton to the World Championship title on the eve of the new F1 season… but why did they stick by the old shape?
- Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ 2023 car is incapable of winning World Championship
- Mercedes have chosen to stick with slimline side pods on their latest car
- Red Bull instead looked to extend a tunnel feature all the way to the rear of car
- The air pods became the source of much debate in the close season among fans
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff alarmed fans today with his admission that their car is incapable of carrying Lewis Hamilton to the title.
As Wolff expressed his doubts that ‘this package is going to be competitive’, it threw into sharp relief the increased visual disparity between the two vehicles, with Mercedes having refused to follow the example of Red Bull’s bulbous side pods from 2022.
Instead, they have stuck to slimline ‘zero’ side pods, while Red Bull have extended a tunnel feature all the way to the rear of the car, and changed the shape of its nose, floor and engine cover.
Designed to control the air flow around the radiators, the side pods were the source of much debate in the close season.
Toto Wolff says that he doubts whether Mercedes car can carry Lewis Hamilton to the title
Mercedes have chosen not to update several contentious features from their car last season
Hamilton is looking to make history by winning his eighth world championship this season
Andrew Shovlin, the Mercedes trackside engineering director, accounted for his side’s approach by explaining that ‘from the aerodynamic point of view, a lot of it are the bits you can’t see under the floor’.
He added: ‘The goal for us was always to try to understand it ourselves and learn and find our own path.’
Whether that was the best strategy, they will get the answer in this afternoon’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Source: Read Full Article