How Mercedes' 'second car' fooled rivals in 2019
Think you know everything about the championship-winning Mercedes W10 from 2019? Think again. The car pictured here is not what it seems - and demonstrates the depth and confidence that makes Mercedes a serial winner, as STUART CODLING explains...
At first glance you may think the car pictured here is the 2019 championship-winning Mercedes W10. It's not. This car never raced.
Its own designers barely remember signing it off. And yet it played a fundamental role in Mercedes' sixth consecutive drivers' and constructors' title doubles. Such is the way of modern Formula 1.
Share Or Save This Story
More from GP Racing
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
How a carryover Alpine blighted by politics gave Ocon an improbable F1 win
Why Ocon retains the approach forced on him by his “crazy journey”
The "fashion evolution" that transformed F1 drivers' helmet designs
The status factor that made Ferrari impossible for Hamilton to turn down
The lucrative deal that points to F1 Academy’s health
The increasing hurdles in front of Ricciardo's potential Red Bull return
Latest news
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
How MotoGP brakes work: Secrets of stopping a 220mph bike
Hyundai enacts contingency plan after WRC Kenya fuel issue
Vanwall working on 2025 WEC comeback with heavily-revised Hypercar
Autosport Plus
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.