The theme is interesting and very topical. Ferrari has approved the chassis of the 674, this is the design code of the red ground effect, already in December, while Red Bull, but also Mercedes have not yet received the FIA stamp.
The W13 which is under construction in Brackley has accused a problem in the lateral intrusion test and will have to repeat it to obtain the approval of the International Federation to participate in the pre-season tests in Barcelona.
Mercedes F1 car 2022
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
In the world champion Constructors team there is no great concern: they tried to pass the lateral test with an extreme solution, which went beyond the limit, but they already know how to remedy it in order to respect the safety constraints.
From this year, the FIA no longer allows the upper anti-intrusion carbon cone to be lowered, which allowed the designers to place the radiator inlets higher in last year’s single-seaters.
James Allison (CTO Mercedes) and chief executive Mike Elliott already had a plan B to remedy the problem which, as a repercussion, will only have an effect on the timing of the resolution of the W13: Mercedes has made official that it will present the car on February 18 before it is shipped to Spain for the track debut scheduled for February 23 in Barcelona.
The W13, according to anticipations, should return to being silver after two years of basic black, and will be a car that will approach the maximum wheelbase allowed by the rules (3,600 mm) to have the two Venturi channels as long as possible: the strong point will still be the power unit which will be able to use a newly designed turbine.
Foreshadowing Mercedes 2022 based on the show car
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
The curious aspect is to note how the two top teams are still busy defining certain shapes of the chassis when we are less than a month away from the Montmelò tests, while Ferrari obtained the homologation of the body without difficulty, well in advance.
Is it the fruit of the Maranello team for having started in the 2022 project while the opponents were engaged in the world championship fight in the last world championship, or is it the sign of a too conventional Ferrari? We will have the first answers when we can see the cars on the track …
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