There’s no logical reason that the zero-pod chassis required a large gearbox. If anything, a smaller gearbox probably would’ve helped because the zero-pod chassis required everything to be packaged extremely tight. The main reason not to do a small gearbox is that it risks reliability issues (as Red Bull had in early 2022). So it’s all about cost-benefit. Red Bull clearly thought it was worth the risk because of the room it creates for the diffuser. Mercedes did not. It’s linked to the zero-pod insofar as it indicates that Mercedes prioritized the wrong aspects of the car. So it’s emblematic of a larger issue. Mercedes won’t simply go quicker by making the gearbox smaller, but only if they can show they correctly understand what is needed to optimize the airflow in this ground effect era.
It’s the same story for the suspension. Anti-dive anti-squat isn’t a silver bullet—it comes with tradeoffs. It’s all about whether you correctly understand how to make all areas of the car work well together. That’s something Mercedes has yet to show in the past two years. They need to make a big step this year and prove they understand the direction they need to take, even if they ultimately aren’t as quick as Red Bull because the regulations won’t change that much in 2026 and they need to get the hang of this before 2025.
