Mercedes have impressed in Bahrain with the renewed W13. The German team did not immediately set the fastest lap times, but attracted a lot of attention with the extremely narrow side pods. View photos of the new car here.
On Thursday morning, all eyes were suddenly on Mercedes. The German team was already expected to come out with a major update, but still people were surprised. Whereas most teams were driving around on Thursday with a car similar to the one used in Barcelona, Mercedes immediately sent a new design onto the track.
Impressive W13
The most striking thing about the W13 is the side pods, or more the lack thereof. Where Red Bull Racing's RB18 already had a huge undercut, Mercedes is now showing a car where sidepods are barely visible. In this way the car should be even faster on the straight, but the question is whether the car is drivable. Red Bull also openly doubts the legality of the car.
That is what Lewis Hamilton is trying to find out during the first test day in Bahrain on Thursday morning. The Brit drove the most laps of everyone up to the time of writing, but fast times are not yet in the cards. See photos of the new W13 in the overview below.