“We saw greater potential in the wide sidepods”: Guenther Steiner admits that Haas were originally going for the Mercedes approach with their sidepods

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner reveals that they had the Mercedes sidepod concept in mind way before it was on display in Bahrain. 

Mercedes came into the Bahrain test with a very unconventional car design. The design seemed to have ‘zero sidepods’, which led to many questioning it’s legality.

While the changes were expected to make the W13 faster, no such difference was seen on track. Neither Lewis Hamilton nor George Russell were able to take the car towards the top of the lap-timing charts.

In spite of not dominating the pre-season proceedings, most of the paddock feels that Mercedes are ‘sandbagging’ about their performance. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz insists that data provided by his team proves that they weren’t running on full power.

Alpha Tauri team principal Franz Tost too, was impressed by the side-pod design. When talking about other teams emulating the Mercedes design, he said it wouldn’t be possible to do so due to budget constraints.

Steiner meanwhile admitted that his team considered adapting to this approach before the season started. However, in the end they decided to not go ahead with it.

Also read: Lando Norris talks about awkward conversation with Helmut Marko involving humiliating Max Verstappen comparison

The Mercedes sidepod design would help with pace around slow corners

Steiner went on to say that this design was considered in July of 2021, when Haas was working on the 2022 car’s development. They acknowledged the fact that it helped them on slow corners, but they still went ahead with a wider sidepod.

“Exactly this concept was our first draft,” Steiner said. “We had it in the wind tunnel last July and already realized that it brings advantages in slow corners.”

“As an overall package, however, we saw greater potential in wide sidepods,” the 56-year old added.

Haas were probably the biggest surprise during pre-season in Bahrain. After Nikita Mazepin’s departure and off-track drama, many people expected the Kannapolis based outfit to struggle.

Just a day before the test began, Kevin Magnussen was announced as the Russian’s replacement. In his first outing in almost two years, the 29-year old topped the lap timing charts.

The following day, Magnussen’s teammate Mick Schumacher put in a stunning display, finishing P2, just behind Max Verstappen.

Also read: Lando Norris regrets participating in Vanity Fair photoshoot along with other F1 drivers