Mercedes has found itself in utter confusion over what they want from the W14 car in 2023. They are planning and thinking about a lot of things, but it is still not helping the car to gain speed. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff knows that W14 is way behind the RB19 car at present in terms of race pace. After the third race in Australia, it might show signs of improvement as Hamilton gained a podium finish after a long time finishing P2.
But the German team should get cautious about false hopes after what happened in Brazil last year. Toto Wolff called that the “perfect storm.” Mercedes was going to make changes to the car with a new concept until they won the Brazilian Grand Prix. It made them believe the W13 idea was fine, and they just revised it on the W14 car. Eventually, in the current season, Mercedes is paying the price for not changing the car concept.
Russell Likes The Recent Changes Made To The Sim
George Russell, the young Mercedes driver who won the Brazilian Grand Prix last year, mentioned, “In the previous two to three weeks, the car has found more gains on the simulator than in the last winter. The main reason is they were looking at the development of the wrong window.” Mercedes expects the simulator to work better in the next races. But do they really think they can beat Red Bull? Mercedes knows they have a lot of work to do on the car. Albeit, they are still not sure if changing the zero-side pod concept is going to push them in the right direction. Chances are it might.
But boss Toto Wolff recently stated that they need to lower their targets for the current season. Mercedes cannot aim to be the world champion at present, but they can try to beat the other two contenders, Ferrari and Aston Martin. This statement of the Mercedes boss is in total contrast to what he said a few weeks ago that they should always aim higher. But looking at the current status aiming higher does not look like the ideal option. It is better if the German team concentrates on how to beat the Italians and Aston Martin. Red Bull is a little bit too far now to think about them.
Mercedes Is Unsure About Shooting For The Stars At Present
With the challenging phase, Mercedes is currently facing, the team boss and the star driver are having a conflict of interest as it seems. Lewis Hamilton is not happy with the seat position, and neither is too thrilled about the rear downforce. The seven-time champion would really like to have a new car design that is more suited to his choice. But it does not look like going to happen anytime soon.
Hence, Hamilton is not too hopeful about shooting for the stars. However, the Austrian billionaire executive feels it is still possible. As they are working on the development of the car along with significant modifications, await them in Imola. Toto Wolff thinks the changes in Imola will help the car get the momentum that it has been looking for.
