© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
After choosing to skip their filming day ahead of pre-season testing, Mercedes is the only team that completed its filming day in Bahrain after testing.
While most F1 teams performed their filming days and first 2021 car shakedowns ahead of pre-season testing, Mercedes opted to do it afterwards. Many are saying the gearbox problems encountered on day 1 of testing might have been averted had the team performed the W12’s first shakedown earlier.
However, with Mercedes having a filming day scheduled only two days after pre-season testing on the same track, the media and other teams speculated that this was a plan from Mercedes all along. The suspicion grew after Mercedes started releasing photos and videos of their filming day on social media, with many saying the nose on the W12 looked different than it did in testing. The theory was that Mercedes was going to use the additional 100 km of on-track time in Bahrain to perform additional testing.
However, it was later confirmed by F1 journalist Will Buxton that the W12, in fact, had the same nose that was used in pre-season testing. Not only that, but the team used a different layout of the Bahrain International Circuit than the one that was used in testing.
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“Everything I’m hearing points to this being a legit filming day rather than a shakedown for anything substantial,” Buxton said on social media.
“Tracking vehicles, on track filming, slow laps with Merc Safety Car for promos, multiple cameras trackside and in pitlane.
“I understand they’re running the Sakhir GP layout. They’ll get more laps and content from fewer cameras as a result.
“Also means removing most of the med/high speed direction changes that might have given an indication on resolving issues had new parts been run.
“In short then, it’s not all part of some devious masterplan as a few rival teams had feared. It’s a genuine filming day for content capture.”
There you have it folks, it’s obviously not a big conspiracy by Mercedes. However, knowing the team, they surely know what they are doing and it’s reasonable to assume Mercedes will tackle the issues they encountered during pre-season testing in time for the 2021 season start.
