From a consecutive eight-time constructor’s champion team to start a season from the backfoot, Mercedes fears not accepting that the concept they bring on is not working anymore. Whatever they do, they remain behind Red Bull. This year, even Aston Martin, using a Mercedes engine and Fernando Alonso’s moves, held a comeback. But Mercedes itself could not! From the season opener, the Bahrain Grand Prix itself, the team accepted that they had chosen the wrong concept. W14 is not the car that we wanted. Now it needs a change. What change? The entire concept changed. And how will Mercedes do it? Let’s see below.
So far, with the little upgrades and small changes made in the W14 car after securing a P7 and P5 by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, respectively, at Sakhir, Mercedes has moved ahead of Ferrari in the driver’s standings. However, the SF-23 was much faster than the W14 in the starting, and even Hamilton claimed, “Mercedes is now a fourth team.” But fortunately, lots of mechanical failures are not allowing Charles Leclerc to secure a good position. This led the Brackley team to leave behind the Scuderia team by 30 points.
Currently, Mercedes has made one podium and a total of 56 points. In contrast, the benchmark set by Red Bull is 123 points which are almost all the points the team could have attained. The second team is Aston Martin with 65 points, and the third comes to Mercedes. When Lewis Hamilton secured second on the podium in Australia, hopes reignited in the Silver Arrows. Principal Toto Wolff was so happy, but he knew that it was not where they needed to be. However, putting a smile on his face, Wolff claimed, “I could tell you that we expected it.”
How Team Mercedes Got Back To The Podiums?
The ultimate goal for Mercedes is, indeed, to fight with Red Bull. But the “second and third position that Mercedes secured is really more than what we expected before this weekend,” said Toto Wolff. It was the result of the upgrades that the Brackley team brought in the W14 car just ahead of coming to Melbourne. In Australia, Mercedes became the second-fastest car!
Nevertheless, the seven-time world champion knows that Fernando Alonso, who is coming to the podium back to back, was VERY FAST. Praising him, Hamilton stated., “He always stayed in my slipstream. This happens only when you get a faster driver following.” Hamilton, who started the Australian Grand Prix from P3, explained that he managed to contain Alonso because the W14 was providing him the required pace on the straights. And Fernando was faster only in the corners.
Meanwhile, why Australia remained a good race for the German Squad? You can find out the answer yourself. SPEED. Just as Lewis Hamilton explained, the only reason why he was able to battle with Fernando Alonso was the speed of his W14 car, which supported him at the right time. So yes, the team has announced major upgrades in May in Imola, and without a doubt, Mercedes is bringing more speed into their latest creation.
