Mercedes has been struggling since last year on the grid due to their concept of zero-side pods. In the cost cap era, other teams have had better results with side pods. But the Silver Arrows stuck to the same idea of zero side pod. Mercedes suffered headaches for the most part of the last year. In the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Brackley team had a one-two finish. But that victory once again diverted the team from their plans to change the zero-side pod concept.
However, with the start of the new season and a new car this year, W14 Mercedes once again stuck to the same concept owing to its victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, that turned out to be a significant mistake, as the team suffered more than enough in the first half of the season only. The Silver Arrows barely managed a podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton’s 192nd podium finish in his F1 career. However, finally, the German manufacturer has understood their mistakes and made the desired changes in the W14 design, which will be visible at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.
A New Image Suggests Mercedes Has Added Side Pods
Recently, F1 journalist Albert Fabrega twitted some pictures of the new Mercedes W14 with side pods resembling a lot of Red Bull’s side pods. The new design of W14 looks like it has RB19 as its inspiration. But if it is true, then it may be certainly not a bad idea, as the Red Bull drivers have been highly successful since last year. However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff mentioned that there is no silver bullet in F1 as far as his experience tells him. But he suggested that the new upgrades should help Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to gain confidence and go full throttle.
Primera imagen de los muevos pontones de Mercedes.
— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) May 24, 2023
First image of the new Mercedes sidepods. #f1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/su38hzjeDN
It might not help them beat their arch-rivals anytime soon. But the upgrades should help them close the gap a little bit. The Mercedes F1 team is looking for stability and predictability as the foremost results after the upgrades. Moreover, Toto Wolff believes that if they find some stability, then they can build on it for the upcoming months and next season as well. The Mercedes boss knows the team is nowhere near where they wanted to be during the initial days. But it is all about hard work to get them back at the front again. Only time will tell if the new W14 with side pods make any drastic change to the luck of Mercedes this season.
Unveiling New Upgrades A Little Late – Not Imola But In Monaco
Mercedes has been planning to make changes to the car ever since the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain. The plan was to unveil the upgrades in Imola, Italy. But the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was canceled due to overflood. Hence, the German team is looking to implement the modifications in Monaco. It is going to be tricky because Monaco is a street circuit and not very ideal for testing upgrades.
But team Mercedes is losing time, and their arch-rivals are speedily ensuring their victory in the current championship as well. The Monaco Grand Prix is the seventh race of the 23 GPs scheduled this year. Moreover, the Silver Arrows need these upgrades to make a quick change. So that they can start building on improvements as soon as possible.