The Mercedes 2022 challenger W13 is in a lot of talks since the major ‘no sidebar’ upgrade; now the aerodynamic side mirrors join the list of a controversial upgrade in the German car. So, there are two sides, one in support of the Brackley base and the other against them. Moreover, F1 team principals Christian Horner and Mattia Binotto also took two different sides.

The Silver Arrows came up with a major upgrade in the Bahrain pre-season testing. However, the new upgrade is very controversial because the car has very tiny sidebars. Therefore, many claimed that the Brackley team is breaking the F1 regulations.

Red Bull boss appreciates the new Mercedes car

The Red Bull team principal was one of the first voices against the ‘no sidebar’ Mercedes W13. But the Austrian constructors later claimed that their boss never share such thoughts. Further, the Red Bull boss later supported the German constructor’s car.

“Mercedes is absolutely legal, it seems that it has all the credentials. Words never spoken have been mentioned. Their car is obviously innovative, and as far as we are concerned it complies with the regulations,” said the Red Bull boss.

“Mercedes is an extreme and totally opposite concept compared to the others, I have no idea where it can take them, but this is Formula 1 and it seems absolutely regular to me, I repeat.”

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Christian Horner further added, “These concepts show the creativity that exists even within very stringent regulations, such as this year’s Formula 1. Whether it’s the right way or whatever, only time will tell. Over time, there will be a convergence between philosophies, but starting from a blank sheet we now have ten different interpretations and that’s the beauty of this sport .”

Ferrari team principal is against the W13 mirrors

Besides the controversial negligible sidebar concept, the Brackley team also came up with another unique design for their car. The German constructors gave a very aerodynamic design to the 2022 challenger’s side mirrors but better performance. However, the Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto, didn’t like the concept and further compared it to a past case.

The Ferrari boss expressed, “We have not tried the solution implemented by Mercedes, also because the mirrors with an aerodynamic function are not in our spirit. Already in 2018, there were supports that had a similar function, but it must be exclusively structural. In any case, we will talk about it with the FIA.”

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The season-opener is just around the corner. But Mercedes didn’t have an impressive session in the Bahrain testing despite their major upgrades. Meanwhile, Ferrari showcased a phenomenal performance and even red bull was impressive on the last day of the testing. Let’s see what happens in the Bahrain GP on March 20.