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Mercedes may have made a statement in their video about firing up their 2022 engine, according to F1 expert Sam Collins. The Brackley-based team released the video on its social media handles. The F1 technical expert believes that the Silver Arrows might have a message for their competitors in the video.
Tweeting about the Mercedes video, Collins said:
“This is early, sending a bit of a statement. Not sure if this fire up will have been with a late '21 spec PU or a very early '22 spec unit (could be a bit of both depending on battery shape). Wonder when they will do the shakedown.”
The F1 expert specified it was too early to tell how the Mercedes engine would be in the 2022 season. Collins, however, believes Mercedes may have sent their title rivals and fellow competitors a message through the video. The team’s arch rivals Red Bull Racing had already mentioned Honda had their 2022 engine ready before the end of the 2021 season.
Mercedes confirm they fired up their 2022 F1 engine in the social media video
Speaking further about Mercedes’ 2022 engine being used in the W13 car, Sam Collins tweeted that the team confirmed the engine in the video was a new power unit. According to the F1 expert, if Mercedes have fired up their new 2022 power unit in their social media video, then it was indeed a statement being made.
Confirming the fire up of the 2022 Mercedes engine, Collins said:
“Just heard from Mercedes that it was indeed a 2022 spec PU used in the fire up. Serious statement indeed in that case.”
Firing up the new season engines is merely a traditional statement made by most teams prior to the upcoming season. It is, however, not an indicator of the engine's quality.
The real litmus test for an engine, irrespective of the manufacturer, is the pre-season test. The tests see drivers put in a decent amount of mileage, helping the teams gather data on the engines. This data, in turn, enables the teams to iron out any issues before the season is under way.
Meanwhile, the pre-season test for the 2022 season of F1 is set to commence in the last week of February in Barcelona.
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