They were slow to admit it, but Mercedes He made a mistake in the development of the 2022 car. A mistake that they continue to pay for this season and from which it will be difficult for them to recover due to the long distance they have with Red Bull. The last to confess the mistakes of the Germans was their former engineer James Vowles.
Vowles, current Williams team principal and former Mercedes engineer until 2022, admitted the developmental failure that saw the season stopped: “I think Mercedes lost a year of development while i was there. Simply because the direction they took was very different from the rest of the peloton.”
The British refers mainly to the sidepods, a German design that was the opposite of what the rest of the grid bet on. As the races went by, it was confirmed that it was not the correct one, but the change of course did not come until this season, which has led them to be significantly behind their rivals.
“They will return to the forefront, but I think it will take them another six or twelve months to be able to do it“Vowles confessed about his forecast about Mercedes’ return to the top.
Last season they achieved a victory with George Russell in the Brazilian Grand Prix, but this year they have not managed to win, although they have five podiums.
A performance that for Vowles means that they have not given up this season: “They have not been erased. His return will start slowly, but it will come, I’m sure.. They will learn about the package and how to develop it because they are an amazing organization.”
