Mercedes have made huge strides forward since the start of the 2023 F1 season. Even though the team has caught up with Fernando Alonso‘s Aston Martin, star driver Lewis Hamilton claimed that he has not seen any radical changes in the car. However, the team believes otherwise. Mercedes feels that they need just one major upgrade to catch up to the Red Bull.
The start of the season did not go according to plan for Mercedes. The W14 was underperforming and the Astons and the Red Bulls were much faster. However, ever since the car received new upgrades, it has started inching towards its full potential.
P3 for Lewis in the Canadian GP. Back to back podiums for LH 💪 pic.twitter.com/22P9Hns60s
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News ✇ (@MercedesNewsUK) June 18, 2023
A change of form was in order in Barcelona as Mercedes claimed a double podium behind the unstoppable Max Verstappen. The Canadian GP also turned out to be a good race for Mercedes as Hamilton clinched P3 after an intense battle with long-time rival Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes engineers have differing opinions
After finishing on the podium in Canada, Hamilton hinted that he was not impressed by the progress made by the Brackley-based outfit. He claimed that the car was quite similar to what they had at the start of the year and nothing major had changed.
However, Mercedes engineers do not agree with Hamilton. One engineer from the Silver Arrows insists, “We’re just one upgrade away from victory.” They believe that Hamilton would be able to catch up to Verstappen with just one more upgrade.
#F1: According to Mercedes’ engineers, three tenths are still missing on Red Bull and one tenth on Aston Martin. Ferrari is a tenth behind.
An engineer dares to say: “We are only an upgrade away from a victory,” with two upgrades already planned before the summer break.
— deni (@fiagirly) June 22, 2023
The engineer explained that according to the calculations made by Mercedes, the W14 is three-tenths slower than the Red Bull and one-tenth slower than the Aston Martin. As for Ferrari, Mercedes are ahead of them by approximately a tenth.
Mercedes believes that the gap to the leaders will be bridged by the upgrade that is supposed to arrive in Silverstone. Toto Wolff has revealed that they want to introduce two upgrades before the summer break, one in Silverstone and a smaller one later.
The Downfall of Mercedes
Mercedes are a shadow of what they used to be. The team that dominated F1 during the turbo-hybrid era fell from grace when regulation changes were introduced in 2022.
Meanwhile, teams like Red Bull and even Aston Martin made a huge leap forward, but Mercedes was unable to design a competitive car under these new regulations. There have been widespread speculations about an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty in the Silver Arrows camp following their poor run of form.
However, things are finally getting better for the Silver Arrows. They have brought back James Allison as the Technical Director of the team, and it has started paying dividends.
The W14 has become competitive enough to fight for top three every race, with two back to back podiums. However, the team at Brackley has to make sure that they continue with the upgrades and build on this success. That is how Mercedes can reach the ultimate goal of regaining their status as the top team in Formula 1.
