New reports suggest 2022 F1 car teaser made by Mercedes not a render

Mercedes rang in 2022 by giving fans a glimpse at their new car for the upcoming season. In a social media post, the reigning F1 constructors' world champions displayed the silhouette of their W13 car.

Many fans initially thought it was a render. Now, it appears that the image came from an actual chassis and not a digital rendition.

Twitter user @BradleyPhilpot shared a tweet that showed parts of the chassis that matched the description of the upcoming Mercedes W13. While the size does appear smaller than normal, it could be down to the fact that these are parts of a wind tunnel car.

Mercedes, like most other F1 teams, tests out car designs in wind tunnels to gather more data for real-life scenarios. Wind tunnel cars are normally 60% the size of a regular F1 car.

The Brackley-based team recently became the first to fire up their engine for the upcoming season. The eight-time consecutive constructors' champions shared a social media post to show their W13 engine 'was alive'.

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Mercedes plans to use new single exhaust terminal in 2022

Mercedes already seems to have a jump on the competition with regards to developments for the 2022 season. Toto Wolff's team has been known to stay ahead of the curve in the past. It reportedly did not develop the Mercedes W12 after the 2021 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, to focus all available resources on the new season.

This was imperative as F1 will have a new formula for the 2022 season. The team did something similar in 2013 as well. It ended up starting the new Turbo Hybrid era in 2014 with both drivers' and constructors' world championships.

In a snippet shared on social media, the team can be seen deploying a new single exhaust terminal system on their W13 concept. This means the car is not expected to feature two pipes coming out of the wastegate valve.

The eight-time champions have used this design on Virtual Test Tracks (VTTs). VTTs allow F1 teams to replicate on-track conditions for more accurate data gathering. Teams can then test their aerodynamics, mechanics, power unit, and transmission together.

The team also reportedly plans to return to their iconic silver livery after a gap of two seasons.

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