Red Bull boss Christian Horner says he views Mercedes' 'sidepod-less' car as legal, ruling out any suggestion that the team believe the design should be banned. It comes after Horner made clear on Thursday morning that his team of aerodynamicists were taking time to "understand" and "digest" the concept. But now the team have reached the conclusion that the sidepods, that Mercedes say were designed amid regular communication with the FIA, are legal. There were reports during the first morning of testing in Bahrain that Horner believed the car was illegal, reports that were rubbished by both the team and Horner himself.
Horner: Mercedes concept ticks all the boxes
"I think it's interesting," Horner told select members of the media, including RacingNews365.com , when asked about the updated W13. "It's very innovative, what Mercedes have come up with. It's quite a different concept to certainly the concept that we pursued, and I think some of the others have. "It shows the creativity that exists even within constrictive regulations in Formula 1 that very different solutions are coming out now. Whether it's the right route or whatever, only time will tell. "I think what we see in Formula 1 is that there tends to be convergence over a period of time on design philosophies. But what's so, so good about this sport is if you get a clean sheet of paper, you get 10 different interpretations. "Obviously, Mercedes have come up with an extreme one. That's a different interpretation. But to answer your next question, whether we think it's legal or not: Yes, absolutely. It looks like it ticks all the boxes."
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