F1: Mexico City might be Mercedes' best chance of victory this year

Mercedes blew it.

Their 2022 radical zero-sidepod design was supposed to be more aerodynamic efficient. With almost no sidepods, there is less wind resistance, which was supposed to make the car fly down the straights.

However, with Aldo Costa no longer designing their cars, they apparently blew the design.

The W13’s zero-pod sidepod design was supposed to pay huge dividends down the straights

Mercedes motorsports boss Toto Wolff said the W13 car was “just too draggy overall”, explaining why Hamilton was powerless to keep Verstappen back in the closing stages of the race in Austin.

“That is something that we need to figure out for next year,” said Wolff.

Asked about Mercedes’ chances in Mexico, team principal Wolff said he would “need to bite his tongue” and avoid making any bold predictions, but that the conditions should aid their chances.

“Sometimes this year I’ve said we should be good at a particular track, and we didn’t [perform] and then the other way around,” Wolff said after Sunday’s race at the Circuit of The Americas.

“So on paper, Mexico looks good. Our draggy car should be effective in the thin air.

“It is good that it is coming next week [this weekend], so I hope we can give them a run for their money.”

Mercedes has only scored one win in Mexico in the last five years, courtesy of Hamilton in 2019. The track has typically favored Max Verstappen given his insane car control with the car on the edge, with Verstappen winning in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

Last Year’s Mexico City GP Start

Watch the onboard cameras from the cars on the first two rows of last year’s Mexico City GP. The two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were on the front row, with the Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on row 2.

Watch as the more talented Max Verstappen schools both Mercedes drivers by out braking them into Turn 1 (watch Verstappen on the left), taking the lead and never looking back.

While the Red Bull car is often not fast enough to win the pole position, when Max Verstappen lowers his visor, and the lights go out to start the race, the Dutchman’s incredible car control and race craft makes him very hard to beat.