The German outfit appeared at pre-season testing in Bahrain with a radical solution to the sidepods on its W13, with Side Impact Structures (SIS) separate from the frame to help reduce the size of the sidepods.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner told Auto Motor Und Sport that he doubted the W13 was within the “spirit” of the regulations.
However, the team later denied that Horner had given such an interview. Although the design of the pontoons of the Brackley machine has been the main protagonist of all the conversations in the Shakir paddock, Toto Wolff assured that the FIA had given the go-ahead to his innovation.
“The process is very clear, when you go in a specific development direction, having the FIA as part of the scrutiny, you are exchanging your CAD data, making it part of the job,” said the Austrian.
Regardless of whether or not the FIA has given the Mercedes concept the green light, F1’s governing body can change the rules mid-course if 80% of the teams agree, which would mean that 8 of the 10 teams They should vote for it.
If the FIA and FOM support this modification, the German team would be forced to change the design of the W13 with the season already started. Motorsport.com asked Toto Wolff if this could turn into a political conflict, to which he indicated that he was not overly concerned.
“It’s clear that sometimes when you bring something innovative, it creates these kinds of discussions,” he explained. “That’s what we expected, now we have a way of working where to make changes you need a majority. I preferred to stay with the old system, where if any team created an innovation, it couldn’t be removed from the car as long as it complied with the rules. rules”.
“I think the FIA and Formula 1 will deal with it seriously, it’s in the spirit of sport. We didn’t want to be alone in this decision, but keeping the FIA up to date, I think everything is fine.” Mercedes .
