“Slight changes” to the Mercedes in Jeddah

Understand W14 and maximize opportunities. These are the key words in the garage Mercedes as the second round of the 2023 season of the championship approaches Formula 1, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite a 5th and a 7th place for the two British drivers from the Brackley team, the car Carbon black seems to quickly reach its limits. Impossible for Lewis Hamilton to compete against Fernando Alonso in the quest for the last place on the podium, theAston Martin being much more versatile and faster. “ Our performance in Bahrain is not what we wanted, admits Toto Wolff. But this is the situation, and we are working on the car, we are trying to understand it and we are working to be in a better position. This is an exciting challenge for us »

« We will make slight developments on the car, continues the main team. They won't be decisive, but they can point us in the right direction to take. » A direction that Mercedes is still seeking, after an already difficult 2022 season. The zero-pontoon concept offered its share of disadvantages, notably suffering from heavy porpoising, counterbalanced by a good performance at the end of the year. Was the right direction a radical change in philosophy? In any case, in the team, we already seem to be thinking about giving a more standard appearance to this always capricious W14. “ From Bahrain, we are having open and honest discussions to plan our response plancontinues Wolff. In the short term, we will leave no option aside in our search for performance. In the long term, we are focusing on our development to find out how to get back to the forefront. »

Maximizing opportunities in Jeddah

Night Grand Prix, ultra fast and in the city, the Corniche of Saudi Arabia is often the scene of twists and turns and safety cars. The opportunity for Mercedes to take advantage of the racing events to climb the rankings, like last year: “ Anything can happen in motorsport, so we will work in Jeddah to maximize every part of our performance, to get every point, every position, every thousandth., assures the main team. This is one of the great strengths of our crew with Lewis and George. We are competitors and we give everything we have every time we are on the track. »

Especially since the drivers will discover a slightly different track, several changes to improve the safety and visibility of the drivers having taken place on the Corniche. “ We will give our best to create opportunities for ourselves, hoping to show more of what we are worth compared to Bahrain », Summarizes Wolff, in the midst of remobilizing his troops. After apologizing to fans of the star brand in an open letter, Mercedes is trying to keep its head above water. But even the drivers complained about this carbon W14: Hamilton was annoyed to see that the team had not listened to his feedback in the construction of the 2023 single-seater, when Russell was already betting that the championship was over, the Red Bull dominating the grid with head and shoulders. It will take a good result for Mercedes for the star to shine again in the eyes of the team, the drivers, and the fans... 

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