From the only title-winning team to the third-position team, Mercedes’s journey has been heart-breaking. The Silver Arrows just survived their worst season this year. Since 2013 they have never had a season without a constructor’s win, but this year all of the records got shattered just due to a weak Mercedes car. The only reason why Lewis Hamilton had to damage his legacy is the draggy and porpoising W13. With the introduction of the new ground floor rules and the end of the turbo hybrid era, the Brackley-based outfits failed to maintain their pace and standard. But not anymore; next year Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will have a different car than this year. In order to bring back Mercedes’s dominance in Formula One, the team has changed teh whole DNA of the W13 and made the W14 as strong as it appears.
A Sky Sports Formula One pundit Karun Chandhok came out to claim that the Mercedes car for the 2023 championship is looking “quite different,” even at the pre-season testing. Just after the season ended, Mercedes newcomer George Russell accepted that the team proceeded with a very wrong concept this year. As a result, they had to lose everything and round off of the season with just one win.
Mercedes Had A Wrong Concept This Year, But Won’t Repeat It Next Year
However, Chandhok believes that Mercedes must have learned from this year’s performance. And promised that the same concept will not be used again in making the 2023 car. That is the reason why the W14 will look different. Talking about Mercedes’s future in 2023 in a season review episode of Sky Sports, Chandhok said, “One of the most intriguing things we will know when we all go to Bahrain pre-season testing next season, is how does the 2023 Mercedes car look like?”
Chandhok claimed that Red Bull, the team which had complete dominance in the drivers as well as teh constructor’s championship this year, will come again with an evolution. And Ferrari, who remained tough giving challenges to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, will also step back with an evolution next year. But if Mercedes wants to fight with Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz, and Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez. Then, the team will have to be “quite different to beat the above-mentioned strong drivers.
Meanwhile, Toto Wolff also claimed that the only reason that made Mercedes face porpoising issues was the “wrong” concept. “Even the best people can get it wrong,” said Wolff. He shared his experience that was learned back in Williams. He explained team functions well only when it has the right infrastructure, the financial resource, and good drivers. Also, a powerful engine, teh right organization, and enough time to proceed it all together.
Toto Wolff knows the ingredients that make sure a team is competitive enough. He says winning can be something else, and when it comes to winning the championship, it becomes completely different. But, we have all of that.”