And so it begins: Horner claims new Mercedes F1 car design is 'illegal'

 • The 2022 Formula One season hasn't even kicked off, yet punches are already flying.

 • Red Bull boss Christian Horner reckons Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton's car is 'illegal'. • Mercedes allegedly have no sidepods on their new cars. 

 • For more stories, visit Wheels24.

Lewis Hamilton's new Mercedes has been called "illegal" by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner as a rules row threatens to engulf the new Formula One season.

Just 10 days before the first race, Hamilton's Mercedes team unveiled a radically revised machine on the opening day of the final test in Bahrain.

The focus is on Mercedes' virtually non-existent sidepods, designed to provide greater airflow, improving downforce, and effectively making the car go faster.

Mercedes' innovative design comes after the most significant technical overhaul of the sport's rulebook in a generation.

However, Horner questioned whether his rivals had bent the rules.

Mercedes dropped the mic and the sidepods during testing ?? pic.twitter.com/ucREEA14NL

In an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Horner said: "From our point of view, Mercedes went a step too far."That doesn't correspond to the spirit of the regulations. For us, these wings are illegal."

Rival teams could protest the Mercedes at the opening round in the Gulf Kingdom on 20 March.

The car could also be outlawed if eight of the grid's 10 teams – the so-called supermajority – believe the concept is not within the spirit of the revamped regulations.

F1 motorsport boss Ross Brawn, who has spearheaded the rule change, admitted he was caught off-guard by Mercedes' new design.

Brawn said: "There are some very extreme interpretations of the regulations which could lead to a lot of debate. We did not anticipate the