How a "baked in" F1 flaw consigned Mercedes to a year of recovery
After eight consecutive Formula 1 constructors’ titles, Mercedes was caught out by the new ground-effects regulations in 2022. That triggered a season of hard work and recovery, culminating in a famous 1-2 led by new signing George Russell in Brazil
“Desperately disappointing.” There aren’t many Formula 1 squads that would feel this way after securing a season-opener podium. But, as team director of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin tells Autosport, that was precisely Mercedes’ reaction to Lewis Hamilton’s third place in Bahrain, behind the two Ferrari drivers.
To call it a shock would be something of an understatement. F1’s dominant squad, the constructors’ champion for eight straight years, had been humbled, needing both Red Bulls to drop out with fuel-pump failures in order to make the rostrum.
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