Following Red Bull’s claim that the new aerodynamic concept of the Mercedes W13 is illegal, Formula 1’s sporting director has offered his impressions on the matter.
The Formula 1 has reacted to the new design of the Mercedes W13, which has surprised everyone at this start of the pre-season test in Bahrain.
And he has done it in the mouth of his sports director and father of the new regulation: Ross Brown. The British engineer has admitted that the design of the Anglo-German team has surprised and was something that his work team did not expect.
“In the past all the teams had to agree to a change in the season, now only 80% is needed”
“I think it is impossible to anticipate the creative scope of the teams, they have thousands of engineers working on the rulebook and how they can use it to their advantage. So some of the solutions, honestly, we never anticipated,” acknowledges Brawn.
“I think there is no doubt that the Mercedes concept we did not anticipate… it is a very extreme interpretation of the regulation and I think there will inevitably be a lot of debate about its interpretation. That is what happens with the new regulations. As much as you try to close all the options, and believe me we closed hundreds of them, innovation in F1 is always extreme, “says the Briton, who knows well how a category works in which he has been a benchmark with Benetton, Ferrari, BrawnGP and Mercedes.
Is the Mercedes illegal?
Faced with Christian Horner’s assertion that the interpretation of the Mercedes side impact structure contravenes the spirit of the standard, Ross Brawn has been clear in considering that he does not see it the same way.
“We will investigate those solutions and make sure they maintain the goals of the new rules, but I think they do,” says Brawn. “Our initial impressions are that there is nothing that we are too concerned about in terms of those objectives of the regulations”.
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However, Ross Brawn admits this may be up to the teams. “I think there is going to be a lot of debate in the next few days. The spirit is a gray area. One important thing we changed was the governance. In the past all teams had to agree to a change in the season, now only 80% is neededas long as the FIA and F1 also agree.
“So I think that once the interpretation that Mercedes has made has been understood, then we will be able to obtain a balanced vision or we will be able to have a vision of its impact, what effect it is going to have. Each team is aware that this can happen during the season, so we have to see how this one develops », he concludes.
Will the FIA and Formula 1 end up giving in to pressure from other teams?
Photos: Mercedes-AMG F1