Brawn: Extreme Mercedes design not anticipated by F1 2022 rules

Brawn called the W13 upgrade “impressive” and indicated he believed the FIA has no issue with the route that the Brackley team has chosen.

However, he cautioned that rivals could raise objections that could lead to the FIA taking a closer look and which could ultimately trigger a rule change.

The FIA and the F1 organisation that helped to formulate the new rules are both particularly keen to ensure that the main objective of allowing cars to follow is not compromised.

“I think there's no doubt that the Mercedes concept we didn't anticipate, it's a very extreme interpretation of the regulations,” Brawn said in an interview with F1 TV.

“And I think inevitably, there's going be a lot of debate about their interpretation. That's what happens with new regulations. And however hard you try to close off all the options, and believe me, we closed off hundreds of them, as I say the innovation in F1, it's always extreme.

“So from our perspective, it's largely about does it affect the objective of the regulations? From the teams’ perspective, they want to be sure that no one's taken an interpretation that they don't feel is correct. So I think there's going to be a lot of debate in next few days.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Brawn stressed that it was up to the FIA to judge the legality of every car and suggested there is no issue with the Mercedes so far, but that could change if a rival team lodges an objection that highlights a specific area of concern.

“It's impressive,” Brawn said of the W13. “And I think this is the great thing about the innovation of F1, and it's just keeping it within boundaries which are sensible, and there are no compromises as I say, in terms of the objective of