'Mercedes steps up from Red Bull; only in Sakhir the real W13'

The F1 teams are afraid that the competition is copying their latest creations. In 2022, every team will appear at the start with a brand-new car because of the radically changed regulations. In the pit lane, drivers and mechanics come to check on their neighbours, and those same drivers and mechanics try to block their rivals' view of the cars. Red Bull Racing is also said to have unveiled the real car to the public as late as possible for this reason. The Italian branch of Motorsport.com suspects that Mercedes is going a step further.

Mercedes possibly only in Sakhir with real W13

Indeed, the medium thinks that, as in 2019, Mercedes will appear with a different car during the second period of winter testing. In 2019, Mercedes did so with the W10. In the first week, they came out with a car that mostly resembled a developed version of the car they used back in December, the previous season. In the second week, a car appeared that was ready for the real thing and was the most up-to-date. According to the medium, rumors say that this will also be the case this year.

The team is said to be doing this because they have found potentially very interesting loopholes and want to keep them secret for as long as possible. Red Bull Racing also kept the actual appearance of the RB18 a secret for a long time, but according to the rumours Mercedes is taking it up a notch and making F1 fans very curious about next week.