Mercedes may completely change the car halfway through the season, Ted Kravitz reports at Express. If it turns out that the W14 is inferior to competitors Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, the cars of drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can be adjusted in the middle of the season.
Mercedes has had a disappointing season. They want to prevent that in 2023. The W14 was presented on February 15, the new car from Mercedes that will have to turn the tide. However, it is not yet certain whether this car will perform a lot better, despite the fact that many adjustments have been made. The German racing team is still sticking to their unique zeropods design, which they created last year.
To ensure that Mercedes does not fall too far behind competitors Ferrari and Red Bull again, they have drawn up a plan B, according to reporter Ted Kravitz. This plan means that they can change the whole concept of the car midway through the season if the need arises. This would mean abandoning their unique design and debuting a car more similar to Ferrari and Red Bull.
Upgrades for W14 have been ready for some time, according to Kravitz
According to Kravitz, they will initially stick to their own idea. “Mercedes indicates that they have a clear picture of where things went wrong last year,” says the Briton. “For now, they’re clear that the zeropods principle should work.” However, according to the Sky Sports reporter, they already have a number of upgrades ready. “They already have developments ready for the European season,” says Kravitz, who also wonders why these adjustments have not already been made to the car.
How the car of team boss Toto Wolff’s team will perform remains to be seen. After the three-day test period in Bahrain that will start on February 23, much more will be clear. Wolff insists that the W13’s disappointing result in 2022 had nothing to do with the unique concept of the sidepods, calling it “not an essential part of the car’s performance.” Mercedes therefore expects to have a better season in 2023, with Kravitz expecting them to be disappointed “with only three or four wins”. If the season does not start as hoped, it is possible that plan B will be deployed and the drivers will get into another car halfway through.
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