Can Mercedes' W12 retain the team's crown?
Replacing Formula 1's fastest car was never going to be an easy feat for Mercedes. Amid the technical rule tweaks to peg back the W12 and its 2021 rivals, the new Mercedes challenger will remain the target to beat
The king is dead, long live the king. Mercedes' W11, having exited stage left with the title of Formula 1's fastest car draped around its shoulders, is no more. In its place the title-hoarding Brackley squad has unveiled its W12, 2021's car to beat.
With the prestige of streaking to seven successive drivers' and constructors' titles comes the obvious question: will this train ever slow down? Of course, the sword of Damocles threatens to dangle above the team's dominance once the year clicks over to 2022 - but in the meantime, the continuation of the 2020 cars suggests that Mercedes should be able to continue its run of form into this season. Unless, of course, Red Bull is hiding something very special...
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Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.
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