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Mercedes’ Progress Stopped in Its Tracks After Red Bull and Ferrari Cry Foul to the Referee

Published 12/08/2022, 11:30 AM EST

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of technology and innovation. Everyone that works on an F1 car incessantly strives to derive the maximum out of a car’s mechanical and aerodynamic package. Naturally, it means playing around the regulations. Even Adrian Newey once said there’s no such thing as the spirit of the regulations. However, the FIA seems to disagree.

Mercedes dropped the ball at the beginning of the 2022 season. That being said, the boys and girls back at Brackley worked in overdrive to rectify and work around the design philosophy of the cursed W13. It paid off at the US Grand Prix, where the Silver Arrows introduced a new spec front wing. Quickly, though, the innovative slot gaps become a controversial talking point.

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Rivals insisted that it provided Mercedes with aero gains outside the scope of the regulations. The FIA agreed with these claims. But they’ve now come out with a 2023 regulation that bans this and any subsequent interpretations of that design philosophy.

According to Motorsport.com, “A new draft of the rules that was approved by this week’s World Motor Sport Council demands that slot gap separator brackets must now provide a structural connection between the consecutive profiles, whilst their dimensions and connecting proximities have also been altered to reinforce the governing body’s original intent.”

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But this isn’t a way for the FIA to target the Silver Arrows. As it turns out, the new FIA, under the leadership of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, wants to be as thorough as possible to make Formula 1 a fair and equitable sport.

The FIA launches a review into the Red Bull cost cap penalty decision

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When it became apparent that Red Bull had in fact breached the 2021 cost cap, there was a huge hue and cry from most of the rival teams. That being said, when the penalty was announced, they were appalled, to say the least. Many believed that the FIA had been too soft on the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. It seems as though the FIA has taken cognizance of this.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was quoted by Motorsport.com as saying, “We learned a lot and a big review is going into it. Who knows in the first year what is going to be the outcome? We didn’t even expect it.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Lewis Hamilton Shows Off New Tattoo Ahead Of The Upcoming Met Gala

Mercedes had just started gaining some lost ground on the front-runners. But with the FIA’s latest technical clamp-down, has the Mercedes resurgence been impeded once again?

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Written by:

Anirban Aly Mandal is a Formula 1 Author at EssentiallySports. In his pursuit for a Bachelor's degree in Law from Symbiosis Law School, he has written multiple academic papers centered around the domain of motorsports. Not only that, but due to his love for F1, he aims to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world some day.

Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai

Mercedes’ Progress Stopped in Its Tracks After Red Bull and Ferrari Cry Foul to the Referee

The FIA launches a review into the Red Bull cost cap penalty decision

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