Difference in wind tunnel time doubled: "Double whammy for Mercedes"

Lewis Hamilton lost his eighth title to Max Verstappen with Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi GP on the last lap. Mercedes did win the 2021 championship as a constructor, but that puts them at a considerable disadvantage according to Peter Windsor.

The F1 journalist and former F1 team and sponsorship manager sees a big disadvantage for Mercedes at the start of 2022. The team received a first blow as they lost to Verstappen in the drivers' championship and a second blow is being dealt to the team in this winter break after winning the constructors' championship; Mercedes is only allowed to use seventy percent of the agreed 400 hours in the wind tunnel as a result of their gold medal.

Windsor calls it a "double whammy" for Mercedes. The rule of giving the winner less time in the wind tunnel was created to try to bring the teams across the field a little closer together. Windsor says in a YouTube video: "They are going into a new season with a completely new car, but with ten percent less time in the wind tunnel. While Red Bull won the championship with Max Verstappen"

In his argument, Windsor mixes up the exact percentages. Before 2021, Mercedes was only allowed to use ninety percent of the time because they had come first. This year, that has been lowered to only seventy percent for the number one. For the number two, Red Bull Racing, that is also only 75 percent in 2022 compared to 92.5 percent in 2021. So the difference in time that the teams have in the wind tunnel has doubled, though, and so it could start to play a big factor in the battle between them.