Photo: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
It was only a matter of time until somebody did something controversial with regards to these all-new Formula 1 regulations, and that somebody is Mercedes. The German outfit brought a completely different looking car to Bahrain this week, featuring an ultra-slim sidepod design (shockingly slim, actually), to go with detached side impact spars and a redesigned floor, compared to what we saw in Barcelona.
It’s safe to say that Mercedes now has the slimmest cars on the grid, which really makes you wonder how on Earth are they going to get enough air to the engine for cooling purposes. Well, the solution appears to be a double series of vents, and while there doesn’t seem to be anything fishy going on, that hasn’t stopped rival executives from questioning the design.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner has reportedly suggested that Mercedes’ new sidepods were “against the spirit of the regulations,” as per Motorsport, but again, nobody is saying they’re illegal at this point.
“This is a very novel approach,” said F1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds (the main architect of the 2022 regulations). “I like to see novel interpretations. I have to say it’s not one that I’d expected to see. And I’m still really impressed at how they’re getting the air through to cool the car, but they obviously are.”
“I think it will have got their rivals sort of going back to the rulebook with their red pencil and seeing just what they’ve done.”
One particularly clever bit of kit is the intercooler, which Symonds believes comes from Reaction Engines in Oxfordshire, the same folks “who are doing this sort of air breathing rocket motor, and the sort of spin-off from that has been this really extremely efficient heat exchanger technology.”
Basically, the new Mercedes-AMG W13 F1 car is using rocket technology to cool its insanely powerful turbocharged hybrid engine.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner has reportedly suggested that Mercedes’ new sidepods were “against the spirit of the regulations,” as per Motorsport, but again, nobody is saying they’re illegal at this point.
“This is a very novel approach,” said F1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds (the main architect of the 2022 regulations). “I like to see novel interpretations. I have to say it’s not one that I’d expected to see. And I’m still really impressed at how they’re getting the air through to cool the car, but they obviously are.”
“I think it will have got their rivals sort of going back to the rulebook with their red pencil and seeing just what they’ve done.”
One particularly clever bit of kit is the intercooler, which Symonds believes comes from Reaction Engines in Oxfordshire, the same folks “who are doing this sort of air breathing rocket motor, and the sort of spin-off from that has been this really extremely efficient heat exchanger technology.”
Basically, the new Mercedes-AMG W13 F1 car is using rocket technology to cool its insanely powerful turbocharged hybrid engine.
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