Ross Brawn admits F1 ‘didn’t anticipate’ Mercedes’ ‘very extreme’ sidepod design on new car

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Ross Brawn admits Mercedes have used a “very extreme interpretation” of Formula 1’s new regulations after unveiling the controversial new W13 on day one of Bahrain testing.

The F1 managing director has discussed the Silver Arrows’ new innovation which sees highly minimal sidepods on the car, which left Red Bull’s Christian Horner uncertain about their impact.

The Red Bull Team Principal described the move as a “fairly different concept”, with Brawn conceding a vote to outlaw the new interpretation from Mercedes could take place mid-season.

“There’s no doubt the Mercedes concept we didn’t anticipate,” Brawn told Sky Sports F1. “It’s a very extreme interpretation of the regulation.

“Inevitably there’ll be a lot of debate about their interpretation, that’s what happens with new regulations, we closed off hundreds of options, the innovation of F1though, it’s always extreme, there’ll be a lot of debate.

“The spirit [of the regulations] is a grey area, in the past you needed everybody to agree to a change in the season, now it’s 80 per cent, once the interpretation has been understood, we can get a balanced view and assess the impact it will have. Spirit is a grey area.

“At the end of the day you have to go to the wording of the regulation, as that’s what will be assessed in court, but that wording can be changed. With 80 per team majority, if something has slipped by, that could happen during the season.”

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed the first session of testing on the track, with Horner providing an uncertain reaction to what it meant for Red Bull and F1 in general.

“I haven’t paid a great deal of attention to it,” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “It’s a fairly different concept, but that’s for the designers to get into.

“That’s beyond my technical competence,” Horner said when asked whether the next step was to allow racing to proceed.

“Let the guys digest it and understand it, I have no idea [if it’s a game changer].”