Are the sero-pod days at Mercedes lastly over?
Ever because the F1 group unveiled their challenger for the 2022 season, the W13 with its distinctive lack of sidepods, that design has confronted its share of questions. Mercedes struggled with aerodynamics all through the 2022 marketing campaign, with each Lewis Hamilton and George Russell coping with “porpoising” on the monitor.
That led to Group Principal Toto Wolff admitting after final season that the group “bought the physics incorrect.” Whereas Mercedes rebounded from their tough begin to the 2022 marketing campaign, their 2023 challenger, the W14, has helped the group to an up-and-down begin this 12 months.
Following the Miami Grand Prix, the group outlined that they have been bringing a giant set of upgrades to the subsequent race. That was alleged to be the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, however with that race canceled resulting from flooding within the area, the upgrades are coming to Monaco for the Monaco Grand Prix.
We lastly have our first glimpse of the upgrades, because of F1 journalist Albert Fabrega:
As famous by many, the design seems much like the form of Crimson Bull’s RB19. That’s in all probability not a foul concept to emulate, given how dominant Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have been this season:
Picture by Michael Potts/BSR Company/Getty Photographs
Nevertheless, Wolff cautioned on Wednesday that there aren’t any “silver bullets” in F1, and that the upgrades are simply step one in getting Hamilton and Russell a automobile that may problem on the entrance.
“The revised calendar implies that Monaco is now the place to begin of the European leg of the season,” mentioned Wolff. “It’s a distinctive occasion however will nonetheless present a possibility to study in regards to the upgrades to W14 – however we additionally have to be cautious not to attract too many conclusions from this one occasion. We’re introducing step one in a brand new improvement path.”
Wolff is hoping the upgrades will give Hamilton and Russell a extra secure, and predictable, W14.
“[The upgrades] gained’t be a silver bullet; from my expertise, they don’t exist in our sport. We hope that it provides the drivers a extra secure and predictable platform,” mentioned the group boss. “Then we are able to construct on that within the weeks and months forward.”
“F1 is hard competitors and a meritocracy,” he added. “We aren’t the place we wish to be however there’s no sense of entitlement. It’s nearly laborious work to get us to the entrance.”
Will the tip of the zero-pod design convey the outcomes Wolff and the group are searching for? We’ll discover out the reply to that query, and a lot extra, beginning this weekend.
