It is no secret that Mercedes have had a sub-optimal start to 2023, producing a car capable of fighting for podiums but – much to the team’s frustration – unable to challenge Red Bull.
The weaknesses of the W14 were relatively clear even in pre-season testing, and the Bahrain GP provided further evidence that plenty of work lies ahead for the Silver Arrows.
The German squad has already made changes to its technical team, putting James Allison back in the position of technical director after a series of disappointing seasons under Mike Elliot’s leadership.
It would be a stretch to place Mercedes’ failures exclusively at Elliots’ feet. However, for a team with such high standards, it is unsurprising there has been a quick response to rectify the W14’s shortcomings.
George Russell has outlined some of the work taking place behind the scenes to put the Brackley squad back at the front:
“I mean, I don’t read what’s been said in the news all the time. But you know, we’re here to win,” as quoted by f1.com.
“We’re here to fight for victories and the Championship. And clearly, we’re not in a position to do that at the moment.
“But big changes are incoming… Naturally, you can’t get things brought that quickly to the car, but I think in due course, we’ll see some big changes, and hopefully, the lap times represent that.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re working really hard at the moment with these changes.
“I won’t give too much away. We need to make sure they work as expected.”
Budget cap restrictions will force Mercedes to be efficient with their spending, especially given the early supremacy of Red Bull’s RB19.
Wind tunnel allocation could – in theory – give the German squad more opportunities to unlock performance compared to Red Bull.
Still, it remains to be seen how effective the team’s mid-season development programme will be.
