The Cost cap budget regulation that handicapped the expensive teams of Formula One is once again hurting Mercedes.
Is Mercedes Black Livery W14 not enough for Mercedes to overcome the pain of last year? Last year team, for the first time in Lewis Hmailton’s presence, the Silver Arrows assembled just one victory. The W13 was not a strong car; it lost its pace right after the 2022 season began. Not even initially the car was better, but also it got worse with each passing weekend. The car delivered porpoising issues and even risked the driver’s life.
Under the changed technical regulation that ended the turbo hybrid era, Mercedes failed to adjust to the ground effect floors and built the weakest car of the season. But this is not a Mercedes thing, not at any cost; the team will let it happen again in 2023. In order to bring a strong comeback, the Silver Arrows tried to bring a revolution with their black livery. But, unfortunately, even before the new W14 car shows its potential, it has been surrounded by risks.
The team launched its 2023 F1 challenger on February 15. The change from traditional Silver to black has been done to reduce the weight of the car. But somehow, the history that Mercedes has with the same black livery in W11, with which Lewis Hamilton won the seventh title, is reflecting some winning hope again. However, despite the livery getting changed completely, the car remains an evolution of the W13. The side-pod concept that Mercedes innovated in 2022 has also been continued in the 2023 car, perhaps because it is not a “performance-related” part. As a result, with a little modification, the zero-pods got attached in the W14 too.
Copying Red Bull And Ferrari Is Mercedes’ Plan B
However, Mercedes is not at all ready to take the risk this year. Regarding the side-pod design, if in case, it brings issues in the new car, then they will surely end their faith in the zero-pod design and will ditch it after a few starting races. Meanwhile, one of the Sky Sports F1 journalists, Ted Kravitz, has suspected a need for plan B in Mercedes.
He said, “Mercedes are giving their big idea, which was a failure last year, another go. However, I think that they have a ‘plan B’ in production.” Kravitz believes that if the Silver Arrows need to, they will definitely go to their plan B. And what is plan B exactly? It is nothing other than doing what Red Bull and Ferrari did.
Also, the Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has claimed the same. But changing the side pod concept to Red Bull’s design is not that easy. Not easy, at least in terms of adjusting to the low-cost budget. This year the FIA has allowed the Formula One team only to spend $140 million. Bringing two major updates in the car within the cost cap budget is not possible. So, either they will have to compromise the other developments or do something brilliantly so that the side pods design does not affect the team’s performance at all.
