Mercedes had a woeful 2022 season, which saw them lose their tag of being F1’s most dominant team quite comprehensively. Unfortunately for them, the 2023 season has not been optimal either, so far. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are struggling to find performance to take their cars into the top three.
After a poor start to the season, Mercedes made sweeping changes to their leadership body. The team brought back James Allison as technical director earlier this year, who introduced his first major change to the W14.
In a bold move, the silver arrows have binned their debatable controversial zero-side pod design. Instead, in the upcoming race in Monaco, the W14 will feature a rounded side pod design. This has drawn in a lot of attention, with people speculating about a potential improvement in pace.
Why James Allison dropped the Mercedes zero side pod concept?
The James Allison-led Mercedes has vowed to revamp the struggling W14 after a subpar start to the 2023 season. Star driver Lewis Hamilton complained that the car is difficult to drive, whereas team principal Toto Wolff claimed that the design philosophy itself was flawed.
To save their season, Mercedes brought in important upgrades for the Emilia Romagna Grand GP. However, with race in Imola cancelled, their developments are set to be trialed at the upcoming Monaco GP.
#MonacoGP 🇲🇨: First pictures of the new Mercedes. Widder and rounded sidepod inlet with tunnel under the sidepod.
📷: @AlbertFabrega @NaturalParadigm pic.twitter.com/ShLsaBt3jH
— deni (@fiagirly) May 24, 2023
One of the most talked about changes is that Mercedes have dropped their zero side pod chassis. A photograph shared by Albert Fabrega confirms that Silver Arrows have opted for a rounded design, similar to that of their rivals Red Bull.
The sidepod was a part of the W14’s issues which caused handling and downforce problems for Hamilton and Russell. Allison claimed fixing the issue was a core part of improving the performance of the car. However, having the upgrades come about in a track like Monaco could prove to be a huge gamble for the Brackley-based outfit.
Toto Wolff remains pessimistic about huge improvement in performance
Ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, Mercedes reshuffled their top brass in a bid to save their season. James Allison was brought back as technical director while Mike Elliott was promoted to the role of Chief Technical Officer.
The upgrades that will be unveiled in Monaco were to be tested in Imola initially. This makes Toto Wolff a little skeptical, since the streets of Monaco isn’t exactly the best place for a team to test new designs.
Although the change in car concept is a step in the right direction, Wolff has warned that it won’t be a “silver bullet”. In an interview with Sky Sports, he shared, “We hope that it gives the drivers a more stable and predictable platform. Then we can build on that in the weeks and months ahead.”
He added, “It is a unique event but will still provide an opportunity to learn about the upgrades to W14. But we need to be careful not to draw too many conclusions from this one event. We are introducing the first step in a new development direction.”
Unlike Imola, Monaco’s tight streets might not be the ideal testing ground for the new concept. The slow corners and high downforce track could be the ultimate test for the W14. However, as the season progresses, the upgrades will shine through and reveal their full impact.
