Formula One team Mercedes is still hopeful to catch up to Red Bull as much as they can in 2023. It is far too late for the former to fight for the title because the latter has already won it. The Austrian team has won back-to-back constructor titles. On the other hand, former champions have not yet won a race this season.
But the Silver Arrows suggest that they want to secure P2 in 2023. However, Ferrari and McLaren are the German team’s biggest threats coming to the fag end of the current season. In the last seven races, McLaren has won the most points after Red Bull. Hence, Mercedes looks to add more performance in the W14 car for the upcoming races.
Mercedes Will Keep Adding More Upgrades In 2023 Before They Fundamentally Change The Car For 2024
Recently, in an interview on the Mercedes YouTube channel, Rosie Wait, the team’s Head of Race Strategy, mentioned they are hoping to add more upgrades to seal the P2 finish. Adding to that, Wait mentioned they need more information to start planning for the 2024 car development. On top of that, Rosie Wait revealed that the winter is the ideal time to make the fundamental changes to the car. However, there is still plenty more that Mercedes can do to W14 to make it faster and aid the team’s learning and understanding of the W15 development. Moreover, the new upgrades will only help the Brackley team to understand things about which they still don’t have a proper idea. All the learnings from the tests of this year should directly help the development of the W15 car.
But Rosie Wait specifically points out the battle they have with Ferrari in the remaining races in 2023. Moreover, the head of the Race Strategy emphasized the team having more upgrades to add to their pipeline. On top of that, Mercedes Engineering Director of the trackside Andrew Shovlin suggested some interesting projects along the way. These interesting projects, when applied, should help the Mercedes drivers gain more confidence in the car. Moreover, that’s what the drivers are really lacking at present. But Andrew Shovlin admits that they are just not quick enough. However, Shovlin cannot emphasize more on how much they have improved since last year.
McLaren’s 2023 Progress Is Inspiring The Silver Arrows
The McLaren team’s progress in 2023 is encouraging Mercedes to fight back. They are desperate to get to a position to win the title next year. Can W15 catch up to the pace of RB20? Only time can answer that question. Moreover, Mercedes still aims to win their first race this season. Winning at least one race in 2023 would justify that W14 has been really better than W13.
That’s what the Brackley team is still pushing for. Can they get at least one win this season? Moreover, Mercedes is still hoping to introduce more upgrades to the W14 car. They want more answers before they start with the development of the 2024 car. Why is Mercedes struggling around low downforce circuits? However, they gain enough pace around high downforce circuits.