'Mercedes comes with extreme B version of W13 in Bahrain'

Mercedes arriving in Bahrain with a very extreme design when it comes to the sidepods of the car, according to the Italian Il Corriere della Sera. The German brand will start the second week of testing with a full B version of the W13.

The latest rumour is that Mercedes has managed to completely remove the "belly" of the car. According to Corriere delle Sera the new version of the W13 has already been tested in the simulator and its performance is impressive. It's suggested that it's already over a second faster than the first version of the W13 that Mercedes tested in Barcelona.

The new design of Mercedes is made possible by the special position of the radiators of the car. These are not located in the side pods, but in the highest part of the bodywork. This makes it possible to design a car that has virtually no side panels.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also hinted at extreme upgrades Mercedes would bring to Bahrain. The upgrades would be so big that Mercedes would have gone to the FIA before modifying the car to ask if the car was within the rules.