Mercedes recently introduced their 2023 car – the W14 which continued with the zero sidepod design.
The last season was a disappointing run for Mercedes. The team suffered their first championship-less season since 2013. The team failed to secure any of the two titles.
Silver Arrows finished third behind their rivals Red bull and Ferrari.
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The new regulations in 2022 affected the side in the worst way possible compared to other front-running teams. Many believe that the unique and radical zero sidepod design is to be blamed for the poor performance.
Regardless, the Brackley-based squad has continued with its unique philosophy for this season too. Mercedes recently revealed their 2023 challenger – the W14. The car marks a return to the black Mercedes on track but also once again sports the zero sidepods design from the last season.
Mercedes giving their “big idea” one last try
The team is once again going with their unique design this year aiming to solve the bouncing problems once and for all.
Regardless, Sky Sports reporter and commentator Ted Kravitz feels that the Mercedes side has a ‘Plan B’ ready just in case:
“They’re giving their big idea, that was a failure last year, one more go,” Kravitz told Sky Sports F1 colleague Craig Slater.
“But I believe they have a ‘Plan B’ in production, and if they need to, they can go to a ‘Plan B’, which is the Red Bull or Ferrari style of doing things, in the middle of the season.
“At the moment they’re saying, look, we think we’ve got a proper handle on what went wrong last year. We still believe that our way is unique in the pit lane and having very slim sideboards is the way to go aerodynamically.
“And anyway, they say most of the downforce is generated by the floor, which you can’t see, but they’re saying don’t expect anything too soon.
“I think if they went away without three or four wins in a season, they’d be disappointed.”
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