At Mercedes they are convinced that they have found the keys to the lack of competitiveness of the W13 this season, and they are working tirelessly to try to come back from the bad start of 2022.
The Brackley team, defending its eighth successive constructors’ world title, were convinced they had an extreme aerodynamic car, and that should have given the Germans a one-second per lap advantage.
The facts showed that this was not the case, and Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have in their hands the third fastest car, behind Ferrari and Red Bull, at between six and seven tenths per lap.
For the Mercedes engineers, the main difficulties come from the exaggerated frequency of the porpoising that makes the disastrous rebound effect almost reach the corners, while in the Ferrari it disappears much sooner when the top speed is reduced.
While we wait to find out what the engineers led by Mike Elliott have prepared for the fifth test of the season, some rumors have emerged indicating the reduction of up to 3 kilos in weight, although what we do know is that they have redesigned the front wing of the W13 , all for the long main straight of 2 kilometers in length.
Detail of the front spoiler of the Mercedes W13
Giorgio Piola ‘s photo taken in the paddock shows how the adjustable flap has been modified to reduce aerodynamic drag and, in particular, the incidence in the part that goes from the nose to the supports has been reduced. In addition, the trailing edge has been reshaped with some material removed, which is very visible in a highly profiled area.
Throughout this first weekend of competition in the history of Formula 1 in Miami we will leave no doubts, and only the stopwatch will dictate if the changes of the German team have worked, or if on the contrary, Mercedes continues with serious problems .
