Just as the Ferrari team did on a fully armored Monza circuit, Mercedes has decided to spend one of its filming days as part of its preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend in Barcelona.
George Russell had the opportunity to test the modifications that have been made to the Silver Arrows, in search of relaunching the team and hunting down both Ferrari and Red Bull.
This filming day is the second of the season for those from Brackley, after doing one on the eve of the first pre-season tests, in Barcelona, and the chosen setting was the French track of Paul Ricard. In the first, Mercedes had the previous aerodynamic version.
Obviously, the hundred kilometers available, traveled with Pirelli demo tires, were planned to carry out a first check of the package of technical innovations that will be released this weekend in Barcelona, in what they hope will be an important step for the team and that could also influence the philosophy of the car for 2023.
In the Paul Ricard tests, only George Russell was seen at the controls of the W13, since, like Ferrari, Mercedes did not consider it necessary to have the two drivers present for a work day of just several hours.
As those from Maranello also confirmed last week, these tests, although officially they are days of recording and obtaining promotional images (hence the few kilometers they can complete and the use of demo wheels), are actually very important for a first evaluation of a new technical package, so the teams require the presence of at least one of their regular drivers.
Once the test, which was kept secret, is over, Mercedes focuses its attention on Montmeló ahead of a weekend that promises to be one of the most important in recent years for the Brackley team, as it could be the time when the one that they make the decision to discard or continue with their current concept.
