F1 news: Mercedes chief's 'fears', Verstappen takes aim, Hamilton replacement lined up

It has been a busy week within the world of F1 and now Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison has ramped up the excitement ahead of the new campaign by predicting a 'terribly painful' season for rivals amid the imminent regulation changes - and a potential Lewis Hamilton revenge tour. Allison suggested that several teams will get their new car designs wrong, which will damage them severely.

While Red Bull and Mercedes are still the favourites for the title despite the new regulations, the changes could shake up the grid order and allow a contender to emerge from the shadows.

Originally intended for the 2021 season, the regulations were delayed a year due to Covid.

These regulations are aimed at reducing 'following car distance' by removing 'dirty air' that leading cars leave in their wake, making overtaking moves more difficult due to the turbulent air flow.

Cars will differ quite substantially from their predecessors despite power units essentially being unchanged, as sidepods, airboxes, brake ducts, underbodies and both front and rear wings are set to be redesigned.The addition of 18-inch wheels will also massively affect the cars, both visually and technically.

The new designs will be the biggest change in decades, with the new-era of ground-effect cars set to tighten the grid.

Allison believes the sheer scale of the overhaul means some teams will make mistakes in their design and struggle immensely.

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"I would imagine, given that the cars are so new and so different, that one or two cars on the grid will have got it really badly wrong," Allison said in a Mercedes YouTube video. "And they will have a terribly painful year.

"I