Mercedes doubts ditching slim F1 sidepods would change competitiveness

Mercedes turned heads in pre-season testing when it arrived in Bahrain with a super-slim sidepod design, dubbed the ‘zeropod’, as one of the biggest design diversions under the new regulations. 

But Mercedes has struggled to match the performance of frontrunners Red Bull and Ferrari through the early part of the season, finishing a race no higher than third.

Most teams have opted to switch to a Red Bull-style concept for their sidepods with updates this year, the most…