The problems with the Mercedes W13 were apparent from the very first laps
Mercedes has been hard hit by the new regulations introduced this year. The German team experienced major problems with its single-seater design from the very first laps before testing in Barcelona and Bahrain.
Mercedes achieved a remarkable feat in 2022. The German team managed to make a car that suffered from many flaws and was significantly behind the other top teams at the start of the season perform well. Thanks to intensive development, the silver arrows will secure a victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
A first problematic drive
Mercedes unveils the W13 ahead of the 2022 season and carries out a promotional shoot shortly after at the Silverstone circuit. This initial low-intensity shakedown puts little strain on the car, but some unexpected phenomena occur. Andrew Shovlin, the team’s director of trackside engineering, has spoken about these first laps of the 2022 season.
To be honest, the signs were there from the very beginning, even on the day of the shooting we did in Silverstone, it was obvious that you were getting this mechanism in the cars.
The phenomenon of “porpoising” and the significant wake quickly proved to be important problems that would require a lot of resources and development throughout the season.
We then went to Barcelona for three days and the car wasn’t as competitive. However, we were expecting a big improvement thanks to the new parts we were going to bring to Bahrain. We realized that we had a serious problem during this test in Bahrain. We installed the upgrade kit but it didn’t make the car faster.
