F1 chief Ross Brawn admits that Mercedes' radical 'zero-sidepod' concept on its W13 is an extreme interpretation of the regulations that will trigger "a lot of debate".
Heads were turned in the pitlane on Wednesday morning in Bahrain when Mercedes unveiled its upgraded Silver Arrow that featured an extraordinarily tightly packed sidepod design.
The radical concept appears to have caught all rival engineers by surprise, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner allegedly questioning the legality of the approach followed by Mercedes' design department.
Ahead of the start of the 2022 season, Brawn warned teams that any extravagant interpretation of F1's new rule book would be quickly reined in.
On Thursday in Bahrain, as teams resumed their pre-season preparations, Brawn reiterated Formula 1's stance as he assessed Mercedes' bold sidepod concept.
"It’s a very extreme interpretation of the regulations, and I think there’s going to be a lot of inevitable debate about their interpretation," he said.
"That’s what happens with new regulations: however hard you try to close off the options – and, believe me, we closed off hundreds of them – the innovations in F1 are always extreme.
"From our perspective, it’s largely about, does it affect the objective of the regulations? The teams want to be sure that no team has taken an interpretation which they feel is correct. I think there will be a lot of debate."
Formula 1's scrutiny of Mercedes' sidepod interpretation could depend on the performance advantage procured by the W13's innovative design.
If it is significant, rival teams will step up to argue that the Brackely squad's concept is not aligned with the "spirit" of the rules.
"In the past, we needed everybody to agree to a change in the season but now you can make a change with 80% of the teams agreeing as long as the FIA and F1 also agree," said Brawn.
"So I think once the interpretation Mercedes has made has been understood, then we can get a balanced view on its impact and what impact it’s going to have.
"Spirit is such a grey area. At the end of the day, you have to go on the wording of the regulations. But that wording can be changed with an 80% team majority, we can change the wording.
"If something has slipped by, then the teams are aware that that can happen. So that could happen live during the season so we’ll have to see how this one plays out."
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