F1 Insider On Mercedes "Secret Project" Which Could Bring Them Back In Championship Fight
It's the F1 rumour that's got people talking in the paddock - is Mercedes secretly planning a major redesign of their car? According to Sky Sports analyst Ted Kravitz, it's not only a possibility but a probability. In fact, he suspects that the team has been working on a secret project for months now.
Kravitz's theory is based on the simple fact that Mercedes seems to be heading in a completely new direction with their car development. The current model just isn't cutting it, and the team is busy beavering away in the factory on an alternative. And Toto Wolff, the team principal and CEO, has made no secret of his willingness to try anything to get an edge over their rivals - even slapping a Red Bull logo on the car!
But Kravitz is convinced that this sudden shift in strategy is no coincidence. He explained:
"It doesn't make sense that they're only just starting to think about this now. I reckon they've been working on a secret project at their Brackley HQ for months. They'll have kept the original design going as a backup plan, but I bet they've already got a new one in the bag.
"You can't just come up with a major redesign overnight - these things take time."
It's a tantalising idea, but is there any evidence to back it up? Kravitz points to the sheer speed of the F1 development process. Teams are constantly testing new parts and tweaks in wind tunnels and on the track, and everything has to be done at breakneck speed. There's simply no way that Mercedes could have come up with a completely new design in just a few weeks - it must have been in the works for months.
But what about Wolff's comments that there's no budget for a major overhaul like this? Kravitz admits that this is a potential stumbling block, but he thinks there's a way around it. He argued:
"They'll have had to be very careful with their spending, that's for sure. But I reckon they've managed to find a way to run two development tracks in parallel.
"Maybe they've diverted some resources away from other areas, or maybe they've just been very creative with their accounting.
"Whatever the case, I'm pretty certain that they've got something up their sleeve."
Of course, it's all just speculation at this stage. But one thing's for sure - if Mercedes really has managed to pull off a secret redesign, it could be a game-changer in this year's championship. And that's something that every Mercedes fan will be watching very closely indeed.