Formula One team Mercedes is still unable to get the best out of the W14 car. They have lost the top spot in the championship to their rivals Red Bull. It is for the second consecutive time the Austrian team has dominated the grid. On the other hand, Mercedes keeps on struggling to find the best version of their car. But they still want to keep pushing the W14 car to get at least a single Grand Prix win.
The Brackley team also knows that it is time to shift focus to the next year’s car. But that can make them lose their hold on the second place behind Red Bull. Hence, some experts believe Mercedes should still focus on W14 to at least finish second in this year’s constructor title. Everybody knows that the Brackley team has been struggling since the last season due to porpoising issues. The Brackley team might be too cautious about it.
James Allison Says Mercedes Has Been Overcautious Regarding Porpoising Issue
In 2022 a new era in F1 began with the introduction of the cost cap. This rule allowed teams like Aston Martin, McLaren, Alpine, and others to fight against the powerhouses – Mercedes and Ferrari. However, nobody has been successful yet to stop the Red Bull this season. Last year, Ferrari had a good start, with Charles Leclerc winning a couple in the first half but could not hold on to the momentum. Later, Red Bull went on to win 17 races last year. Max Verstappen alone won 15. But this year, the dominance of Red Bull has been on another level. It has been twelve Grands Prix so far, but only Red Bull finished at P1 each and every time. On the other hand, Mercedes was busy dealing with their porpoising issue the whole 2022 season since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
It led Lewis Hamilton to suffer back and neck pain along with bruises. This year they have reduced the problem of bouncing. Since then, Mercedes introduced multiple upgrades this year. Later in a mid-season Q&A with the media, James Allison, the technical director, mentioned that these upgrades helped them to move forward in certain directions. Moreover, Mercedes had options to either attack and find performance or drive with caution to avoid the specter of the previous year. They followed the latter path when they became too cautious. The former champions tried to avoid the porpoising issue totally this year. But they focused a little too much on it.
The Silver Arrows Are Focusing On W15
Moreover, Mercedes found themselves out of title contention, but they could prove that they were best among the rest. That’s what James Allison mentioned hours after the Mercedes boss held his hands up. Toto Wolff lately confirmed that Mercedes won’t introduce any more upgrades. They want to take back their rightful throne.
According to the technical director, Mercedes is paying the price for being overcautious. They are looking to correct it in the remainder of the season. However, James Allison believes they have made good progress from where they were compared to Aston Martin and Ferrari. Moreover, James Allison mentioned that wind tunnel time has its primary focus on the next year’s car.
