F1 rumors almost always come true, and this time is no exception, with Mercedes taking their sideless box W13 onto the track on the first day of the Bahrain test.
F1 is running a brand new car this season and teams have come up with different solutions to adapt to the new technical rules, some of which are more extreme than others. Bahrain's Mercedes W13 on Thursday basically didn't have any side boxes.
The car's cooling system has allegedly not changed, and Mercedes has focused its efforts on producing overall body components that are more aerodynamically efficient. Such a design obviously reduced the weight of the car, and after the Spanish test, all teams except Alfa Romeo were trying to reduce the weight.
Andrew Schofflin, Mercedes' director of track engineering, said: "This is the most extreme design we have ever had. ”
Martin Blundell, a former F1 driver and media personality, said: "We have seen Mercedes this morning and they have a huge change, it looks like a piece of chocolate that has been melted in the sun and the body is surrounded by a very creative cooling system. When we look at all ten teams, their understanding of the new rules is very different, which is a good change. Those three days were critical, with an accident or a major reliability issue that would bring the team to a standstill at the start of the season. ”
Previous reports said the sideless box design had shown "impressive simulator performance," which would upset the designers of rival teams and scare some team leaders.
The legality of the side-boxless car has been questioned because the design of the car is very different from that of competitors, but Mercedes has reportedly consulted the FIA before designing it.