Heading to the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, team Mercedes is all set to accept changes in the brand-new W14. The Pre-Season test did not provide a happy result for the Silver Arrows. Despite the change in livery and underneath revolution in the car, they faced some serious issues that caused a red flag in one of the test running sessions. However, compared to what it faced in 2022, Mercedes is now in a sub-optimal state. Just after the launch of the W14, fans were able to vision no porpoising in the car. And the expectations were raised higher.
After three days of mediocre performance in the test run last week, some concerns have emerged in Mercedes. Indeed they did a great job taking a sensible step towards improving the new car. But the test runs have made one thing clear: the W14 stands way too back compared to Red Bull’s RB19.
However, just as George Russell said, Mercedes will eventually become stronger after bringing upgrades. There is no reason why Mercedes can’t become stronger gradually. The initial few races will be a trap to catch all the issues, which will later get fixed via developments. And eventually, the car will become capable of winning the championship. But will this “eventually” take them to the end with only two or three remaining races? This is still a concern for the Brackley-based team.
Mercedes Is Coming With Noticeable Upgrades In Bahrain GP
The new Mercedes F1 challenger is giving no confirmations for the long-run pace that will pave the way for them to be a title contender this year. The occasional reliability problems are constant and not allowing the W14 to optimize at the same level as RB19. Mercedes’s new black livery is also showing limitations to the potential. It is okay to suspect these issues during the test runs. But what guarantee Mercedes provides that those issues will be removed before the Grand Prix begins?
The guarantee or, let’s say, assurance comes with Mike Elliott’s statements given to Sky Sports. Mercedes’s technical director has admitted that the bodywork of the W14 is coming ahead. And “IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT, like an evolution of ours,” he said.
The three days test run in Bahrain was not enough; Mike Elliott protested against the shortage of time. But now that it has been held and Mercedes successfully found the issues they were expecting to see, they are into fixing it working 24×7. “Competition-wise, let’s hope that Mercedes is back,” said Mike. But he can’t ignore the fact that “We have hot good competition.” However, if Mercedes makes a step forward and get closer to the front, they are just back to the form like before 2022. Elliott has assured that if the team remains able to develop over the course of the season, then with hopes and prayers, and lucks, they will definitely battle for the championship and win it.