As Autorpot reported for the first time, the Silver Arrows will leave Formula E after they have not committed themselves to the Gen3 regulations at the factory, although team boss Ian James and Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff are aiming to sell the independent racing team operation.
This leaves the Venturi Racing customer team to find an alternative powertrain partnership, while the remnants of the Mercedes team are also aiming for a new powertrain deal.
Meanwhile, Mercedes has officially unveiled its 2022 challenger at the Valencia Marina before pre-season testing begins on Monday at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Revised homologation rules ensure that the Silver Arrow 02 introduced last season – led by former Renault Formula 1 technical director Nick Chester and Mercedes F1 KERS architect Pierre Godof – is adopted.
Apart from minor changes to the paintwork, the car has received software updates for the machine that Nyck de Vries drove to the 2021 world championship title, as the starting grid for the last season of the Gen2 regulations has to adapt to an increase in performance in racing mode of 20 kW.
Mercedes has kept drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and de Vries, although the latter have close ties to the Williams F1 seat vacated by George Russell, but will make significant changes to its technical line-up as operations have mainly relocated to Brackley after previously one complicated set- over Great Britain, Stuttgart and Afalterbach.
James said, “I don’t think our approach will change much now when it comes to going from hunter to hunted.
“We know how close this championship is and how strong the competition is.
“It will be another tough fight to the bitter end.
“The pressure is always there, of course, but when I see the long hours that everyone is currently working on, I am pleased to see that the team is still really hungry to reach our full potential.”
Master Nyck de Vries, Mercedes-Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
While Mercedes clinched the title double in 2021, it suffered a slump in form in the middle of the season when it chased for wins in qualifying at the expense of its racing pace.
Chester added, “The car is homologated so the basic geometry of the car is fixed, but there is still some mechanical setup to be done.
“With increasing understanding, we can make further developments to the setup.
“This is what we are working on and also on the mapping: how we operate the systems in the car and how we can develop the software in-house and at the same time expand our understanding of the tires and the actual car so that we can make even more of it.”
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