Formula 1

MERCEDES : JAMES CONFIRM WORKING ON W13 2022 F1 CAR

Published

3 years ago

25/07/2020

MERCEDES : JAMES CONFIRM WORKING ON W13 2022 F1 CAR

Mercedes technical director James Allison has cast doubt on the impact the new 2022 Formula 1 cars will have on improving racing.

The sport’s bosses have been working in conjunction with the FIA and teams to develop a design that allows drivers to follow closer and promote more overtaking by simplifying aero and increasing ground effect.

Mercedes has been one of the more vocal critics of the overhaul during the process, suggesting rules stability is what’s needed to bring teams closer together.

James Allison hosted the team’s periodical Factory Friday session on YouTube. An affair where he takes the time to answer questions from the fans on anything related to Formula One. One particular question pertaining to the 2022 F1 season and the team’s progress with the car stood out.

Allison revealed that the F1 regulations forbid any team from working on the 2022 car’s aerodynamics. Fortunately, this does not extend to working on the actual car itself. He acknowledged that there are a number of hurdles that do not relate to the aerodynamics.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t work on the 2022 project at all. The regulations have been published and there’s plenty of challenges that are not normally not aerodynamic challenges that we are working on.

“We’ve been working on them for months and we’ll keep working on them all the way through this year,” said Allison.

The Mercedes Technical Director insisted that the factory personnel are working on it already and will continue to do so. So, by the time the 2021 season rolls by, the embargo on the aerodynamic team will be lifted.

Can Mercedes continue its dominance in 2022?

Initially, Formula 1’s highly awaited rules overhaul should have taken effect from 2021 onwards. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced F1 to make a massive compromise and delay it to 2022.

Regardless, those new regulations are still a huge mystery for everyone, so nobody knows how the pecking order with be.

There is a chance that Mercedes could end up dominant, as it has been since 2014. On the other end of the spectrum, another team could take up the cudgels and establish its own reign of supremacy.

For the moment, the German team and all other teams are choosing to focus on the ongoing 2020 season. Once again, Mercedes is on the front foot, with Red Bull and Ferrari playing catch up.

As it turns out, Red Bull appears to be the likelier team to make Mercedes sweat.

Meanwhile, the Scuderia Ferrari team is seemingly resigning itself to a difficult year with both drivers struggling. The Maranello outfit is trying to pull out all stops in a bid to try and salvage whatever they can from the remainder of the season.

In other words, the team roped in a Ferrari legend, at least from a technical standpoint, and restructured the entire technical department.