Bahrain pre-season testing has begun from today and so have the priceless reactions of the fans and drivers alike. While the testing goes on, we saw Mercedes make several upgrades to their previous car.

The very stylish grey beauty Mercedes W13 featured minimal yet aggressive and bold sidepods. Interestingly, sidepods provide side impact structures and cooling inlet support.

Furthermore, aggressive fins could be spotted on the car that were abiding by side-impact regulations. Needless to say that the grid saw some meme-worthy reactions as the W13 seemed like a solid impact maker.

Mercedes leave the fandom gagging

Ever since the Barcelona testing got over, we expected Mercedes to make big changes. Their much-anticipated car was the talk of the town as the ace driver, Lewis Hamilton, took the car out for testing laps. While Lewis was out of the car, we saw rivals Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez glaring at the new sidepods. They hilariously looked both concerned and bothered.

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Both Red Bull drivers’ reactions have now become viral as rival Mercedes looks more solid than ever. The Silver Arrows have a score to settle ever since Hamilton lost the title to Max controversially last year, despite them winning the Constructors’ Championship. Moreover, despite looking a little unbalanced on the tracks, Mercedes is being hailed as the title leader already.

Wait, where are the sidepods?

Their sidepods are tightly clad, and they packaged the cooling inboards, possibly a bit higher in the car. Furthermore, the engine cover features two rows of cooling gills, a modified floor, and wing mirror mounts which are thought to form an independent surface. The team has tried to seal the air with the new ‘podless’ wonder, a road Williams F1 has tried before.

Nothing is clear about the radiator layout yet but overall, clearly, a new way for cooling has been devised. The floor’s outer edges have also reportedly undergone changes and the aerodynamicists would want to energize the Venturi flow.

Overall, the first day of the testing itself has proven to be an epic headline maker. The teams have two more days to carry out the last changes as the season begins on March 20, 2022. While some teams like Alpine have reportedly improved over the previous testing, we can say nothing with utmost surety.

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We expect this season to be an absolute banger as the top teams have radically changed their cars. With these changes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Mclaren look solid contenders for the title race.