Huge change for Mercedes: 'Haven't had a change as big as this one'

Mercedes has won eight world titles in a row, but in 2022 they face a new challenge. The team must build a completely new car and ensure that they can compete for the world title again with this generation of cars. Elliott speaks of huge changes.

New car from Mercedes

"On the chassis side, the changes are huge. We haven't had a change as big as this one in my career. I think there are three aspects to this: first, the way the regulations are constructed is very different, particularly for aerodynamics, and that has a big impact. Second, what they are trying to achieve with the aerodynamics means the cars are fundamentally a different shape. Third, this is the first time we will have attempted such a big change under a cost cap," he said. 

In addition, the technical director also emphasises the backlog that Mercedes has in terms of testing. Indeed, Mercedes has the least number of runs in the wind tunnel per week, with, for example, two runs per week less than Red Bull Racing. "That's an exciting test as an engineer but there is obviously some risk in there too, in terms of our competitive position." Elliott concludes.