“Hats off to them,” James Key commends Mercedes’ innovative zero-pod design for the W-13
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Mercedes W13 during and after Barcelona testing
Mercedes has been always the team to have come up with innovative designs and that’s been a hallmark of their success. The German manufactures have never been shy of experimenting with the car to provide that edge to their drivers. The team has always have worked on a high risk, high reward philosophy and we can agree that has reaped them fruits over the years.
Mercedes has won eight constructor’s championships and seven driver’s championships in the last eight years, giving a whole new different to the word ‘dominance’. But, when you go with such a strategy, there will come a time when it will not fall into place and you might have to pay the price. That’s exactly what has happened this year. Mercedes developed a car which was devoid of sidepods and it was expected to give Lewis Hamilton and George Russell serious gains.
But, sadly, that hasn’t been the case. Both the drivers have been unable to fire up the W-13 and the porpoising issues are certainly making it even more difficult for them to compete against the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. Despite of all of these problems, we have got to give it to Mercedes for this courageous move. This was done to produce an aerodynamically-efficient bodywork package and also to cut down the weight.
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James Key believes Mercedes sidepod less design is definitely a work of art despite their problems
It might have not work wonders as it was expected to but it caught the eye of everyone, including James Key. The McLaren technical director acclaimed the engineering masterclass by Mercedes. He said, “Hats off to them for coming up with that interpretation and having the courage to go with it.“
“Mercedes really went to an extreme. So yes, I was – I think we were all surprised.”
“But it’s great to see a team having the courage, and then the innovation that’s gone into that, to have something that’s so different.”
“As it turns out, the sidepods were the biggest difference, I think, between cars,” as reported by planetf1.
Mercedes have continued to amaze over the years but this has to be up there with the best. It might have not gone according to plan but we need to admire the courage and the technical know how to do so.
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Shubham Bajpai
(776 Articles Published)