Max Verstappen has spoken out about Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes car for the upcoming campaign amid suggestions Red Bull are unhappy with the design.
Max Verstappen has named an ‘ugly’ innovation on Lewis Hamilton ’s new Mercedes car ahead of the 2022 season that kicks off later this month.
The Formula 1 teams are out in Bahrain for pre-season testing ahead of next week’s season opener in the Middle East.
The main talking point coming out of this week’s testing has of course been Mercedes’ new look W13 vehicle for the 2022 season, with its unique look catching the eye of the rest of the paddock.
One of the main talking points surrounding the new design is the radical ‘no sidepods’ innovation added to the car.
Despite the unique layout Verstappen revealed he has no concerns about how the W13 could well perform, describing the new design as ‘ugly’.
The world champion said: “No, I’m not concerned.
“I said this so many times last year, and we have to do it again this year, even if the cars look a bit different.
When asked about the new innovation, he responded: “Ugly, isn’t it?”
Meanwhile, Christian Horner was forced to deny claims he had told a German media outlet that Mercedes’ new design was illegal.
Horner purportedly told Auto Motor und Sport : “The new Mercedes violates the spirit of the regulations.
“For us, there are some parts that are not legal.”
A Red Bull statement said: “Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes’ car.“Any quotes being attributed to him this morning are incorrect.”
A later statement added: “So we are clear, we have made no official comment regarding Mercedes’ car and will not be doing so.”
Horner himself also firmly denied the claim, as he told Sky Sports: “I was slightly surprised to be reading comments that I’m supposed to have been making but there we go.
“To be honest with you, I haven’t paid a great deal of attention to it.”
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