Mercedes is having tough seasons back to back due to the condition of their car. Last season saw the team failing to win more than one race. The reason was the W13 car. The car had too much trouble with porpoising. It bounced so much that drivers were severely hurt. Even the racers complained about back and neck pain as well as bruises. Apparently, the Brackley team was expecting to get rid of the bouncing trouble in 2023. They did a little bit.
But the new W14 had issues with the balance as well. After the opening 2023 race in Bahrain, it was clear that Mercedes has a lot of work to do. The W14 car is far behind RB19. In fact, Aston Martin has emerged to be a new threat to beat the champions. The other powerhouse, Ferrari, also finished a position ahead of the Silver Arrows. But it is visible to the naked eye that Red Bull at present has got the strongest car.
Back in the time, Mercedes used to have a pretty good record in Bahrain. But this year it was very disappointing. Toto Wolff, the boss, recently mentioned that the first race of the 2023 season was “One of the worst days in my racing career.” Clearly, the Silver Arrows have to come up with a better strategy to challenge Ferrari, Aston Martin, and even Red Bull. In the case of Aston Martin, they have been using a lot of Mercedes products like wind tunnel and so on. But they managed to come up with a faster car in Bahrain. Hence, Mercedes has a lot to plan and figure out before the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia.
Mercedes Working On Upgrades For The Next Grand Prix In Jeddah
Wolff’s team is working on new plans that are in store, mainly for Imola in Italy. Mercedes’ boss also mentioned that they will come up with changes in design, most probably implementing the idea of “zero pods” again instead of “side pods.” The Brackley team is hoping that the upgrades will improve the results in the following races. They have 23 more races to go this season. The team is keen to make changes to the aerodynamics of the car. But these changes will occur from the race in Imola till then, the team will have to make as many improvements as possible to the car. The plans also include changes to the wind tunnel. The changes may help the team in the case of their balance and downforce better than the previous races.
But for a long time since, experts have criticized the concept of side pods that Mercedes is still using. They might have to change that as well, as it has not helped them really. Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton suggested the engineers make certain changes. But after the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis mentioned that the team had not taken his suggestions into account. Mercedes is trying their best to get better. But till now, it is not really helping. The Brackley team may have to wait for the next season to fight for the title if the car does not get better in time.
