Mercedes surprised everyone in F1 with their newly designed car with a disappearing concept during the initial testing. The Silvers Arrows seemed to be the favorites to win their ninth constructors’ championship in a row. However, things changed completely very soon as the German racing team struggled with the aggressive porpoising associated with the newly introduced designs. The W13 bounced violently, resulting in the decrease of downforce and ultimately affecting the W13’s pace. Mercedes have struggled to compete in the front with Red Bull and Ferrari and have not won a single race in this year’s championship.
The Mercedes drivers have not been able to deliver results with an off-pace car. As a result, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc have built a significant lead over George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The Silver Arrows have worked really hard to get back in the championship battle. And their upgrade package at Barcelona clearly seemed to have countered the porpoising to a greater extent. However, the W13’s stiff setup created another bouncing issue for the Silver Arrows in Monaco, resulting in a P5 & P8 finish.
The Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claimed that the W13 was undrivable for the racers during the practice session in Monaco. And as we move to Azerbaijan GP the next weekend, Toto Wolff has suggested some crucial changes could be on the way in 2023 if Mercedes fail to compete this season.
Wolff Proposes A Concept Change For the 2023 Championship
Talking about what lies ahead for Mercedes, Wolff revealed that the team needs to continue to grind away and look to close the gap. However, if they fail, the Silver Arrows will need to plan for some changes in terms of architecture and aerodynamics. This could not be made on the current car as per the rules. However, Toto feels that Mercedes are not at that point yet. He added, “At least we’re going to get more wing tunnel time from June onwards.”
Moreover, the Mercedes boss stated that the team needs to understand what would make the new concept faster than the current one in order to make changes. However, the Silver Arrows have not figured it out yet. And hence, they need to believe in the structure and the organization to bring developments and find ways to increase the W13’s pace.
Mercedes have found itself in an unfamiliar situation that they have not come across due to its continuous domination at the front. Hamilton and Russell have struggled to compete with the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers at the front. But the team is considerable faster than Mclaren. Moreover, Wolff shared that Mercedes are learning from their experience at every track. He feels that every kilometer is an important lesson for the team, which could help the team find improvements. Toto added, “But we just need to get out of this no man’s land in which we are in at the moment.”