Mercedes can't solve problems quickly: 'That has become more difficult now'

Mercedes is behind

Philipp Brändle worked as an aerodynamics specialist for Mercedes through 2019 and knows better than anyone how things are going within the German team. Mercedes has clearly started 2022 with the W13 at a disadvantage and it will be difficult to close the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.

Among other things, Brändle states that the car of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell is still far too heavy. Like Red Bull, the reigning world champions are among the constructors losing a lot of ground because the car is simply too far above the lower limit of 798kg. In addition, porpoising is also a well-known problem with Mercedes, requiring the car to be tuned higher and preventing drivers from driving with the ideal setup.

Bad luck for the champion

All these problems can be solved in time, but in 2022 it will be difficult for Mercedes. As champion, they have the least time in the wind tunnel and CFD (mid-season rebalancing). F1 has devised an ascending scale in which the champion of the last year gets the least time and the team at the bottom gets the most time.

For a top team, a deficit is therefore difficult to make up, because it is always behind the times. It also has to be more economical with its resources than in previous years, and because of the budget cap it is not possible to make random updates to the car. According to Brändle it will be a long road back for his former employer.