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Mercedes have trimmed the rear wings of their W13s after it allegedly caused a straight-line speed deficit in the opening race in Bahrain. Many suspected the problem to be with the team's power unit, but the team claims all issues were due to the aerodynamic setup in Sakhir.
Teams have finally arrived in Jeddah, all ready for the second edition of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is taking place this weekend. Despite securing a result of P3 and P4 in the season opener in Bahrain, the Silver Arrows struggled for pace when compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.
While many suspected that their engine was down in power compared to their rivals, Mercedes CTO James Allison confirmed that any straight-line speed deficiencies were due to aerodynamic choices made by engineers. He said:
“I think most of that is coming from the size of our rear wing. If you look at the cars coming down the straights one after the other and just look at the frontal area of the rear wings that each team has, you will see that we were running the biggest rear wing. Rear wings are a large factor in how much drag the car has, and the amount of drag a car has is a large factor in what the end-of-straight speed of the car will be.”
Lewis Hamilton content with Mercedes' Bahrain finish
Lewis Hamilton claimed P3 was the best finish his team could have possibly achieved at the end of the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. The Briton managed to secure a podium finish in the season opener despite being off the pace when compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion and his teammate George Russell were effectively 'gifted' two positions after Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had to retire due to a fuel supply issue.
Speaking about his P3 result, the Mercedes driver said:
“It was really such a difficult race. We struggled through practice. This was really the best result we could have got, and of course it was unfortunate for the other two drivers. But we did the best we could and we are grateful for these points.”
With Hamilton claiming the team's Bahrain result was incredibly motivating for the team, fans are looking forward to another epic race at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend.
