F1 bosses think the Mercedes W13 is a bold innovative car which also has the potential to win races but it has its own limitations not for long.
In 2022, Mercedes made its weakest start to their season in the turbo-hybrid era. The Silver Arrows is far from being the dominant force they used to be, and Red Bull and Ferrari have taken over the championship battle.
However, Mercedes is still full of that skilful team of engineers. But limitations like budget caps aren’t allowing them to splash the cash on the development and be back at the top.
Still, the fundamentals of the W13 are great as professed by team bosses of other teams. Aston Martin’s Andy Green and Mclaren’s James Key are certainly impressed by the car, and they see it as a piece of machinery which can win races on its day.
“On paper, the Mercedes is a winning car. It has huge potential. But you also have to make it work on the track,” said Key as per the AMuS. Meanwhile, Key is impressed by his counterparts at Mercedes.
“The Mercedes is unique, once again different from our old concept, although the side boxes were also very slim for us. It’s a very smart approach,” said Key.
“I take my hat off to the Mercedes colleagues that they dared to do such a thing. This car works in a completely different way than the rest.”
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Where does Mercedes W13 lack?
Mercedes has the most unconventional design on the grid. But the car earlier had issues with porpoising which made them lose pace on the straights.
With new floor upgrades in Spain, that issue seems to be minimized. But right now, according to AMuS, it has a small setup window to optimize its car’s performance.
If Mercedes goes high rake, they lose massively on the downforce, which as per their wind-tunnel was impressive. And if they go with the low rake, they will be losing car control. Seeing, that Azerbaijan GP has some tightest corners, Mercedes can’t compromise on control.
Therefore, the race in Baku is the litmus test for Mercedes’ efforts in development so far in the season. Will they manage to pull themselves back up is remained to be seen.
