When the Mercedes team produced a car with very small, almost non-existent side pontoons at the beginning of last season, this idea was considered almost revolutionary. It took a year and a half to give it up.
In 2022 the car suffered from build-up, which prevented us from estimating its real potential, and when they removed the build-up, it turned out that the minimal side pontoons did not give the desired effect. The car lacked stability and downforce, so already in March, the head of Mercedes AMG, Toto Wolff, admitted that the team had made a mistake in choosing the concept of a new car.
Building a new chassis on a tight budget and schedule is almost impossible, but Wolff said the team decided to scrap the concept to build a good foundation for next season.
A new version of the chassis was prepared for several months and was scheduled to be displayed at Imola, but the stage was canceled and the updated car was taken to Monaco. From the first photos you can see that the side pontoons have acquired a more traditional shape.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
