“More radical” choices to come at Mercedes

In 2022, Mercedes took the risky bet of a philosophy completely different from its competitors, that of zero pontoons. An interpretation of the regulations quite opposed to Ferrari and its large bathtubs, or Red Bull whose concept seems the most balanced. If the W13 was capricious, the performance found at the end of the season left one wondering: would the garage with the star manage to make its invention work, to the point of making its competitors doubt?

At the end of pre-season testing, some issues were resolved and the all-black W14 looked capable of securing its third place in the Manufacturers' standings. But the meteoric rise of the client team Aston Martin and the difficult weekend experienced by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was not enough to reassure the clan of Toto wolff. " It was one of the worst days of racing, it really wasn't good, admits the main team. Aston Martin is very fast, they deserve it, and Red Bull is just on another planet. » The 2022 shift was too poorly negotiated not to call into question the zero-pontoon, even if it meant starting from a blank sheet: “ I think we need to be much more radical, much more radical in our choices rather than hoping to gain three tenths. » Three tenths became obsolete when the two Mercedes drivers, who finished the first round of the season in 5th and 6th position, were one minute (!) behind a winner who was never worried. 

In the middle, Ferrari and its not yet completely adjusted SF-23 creates the transition between a reigning world champion team and the most likely candidate for succession, and… the rest of the grid. “ I think it's painful, because they're way too far ahead, continues Wolff. It reminds me of the best years, when we took a second [per turn] to everybody. » A period where the domination of Mercedes and its Silver Arrows was unchallenged, where Lewis Hamilton was climbing the record ladder at full speed with, as his objective, the eighth crown.

Despite the absence of results since last season – 2022 being the first year in Lewis Hamilton's career where the Briton does not win a single race – the seven-time world champion continues to motivate his troops. Passing the checkered flag, the driver's words were immediately addressed to the engineers in the German garage: “ I believe in each of you. »

« It must be a horror because the car is too unstable, but it is fantastic, Wolff says of Hamilton. He was a huge factor in performance, and not just in the car. » Unable, for the moment, to compete with Aston Martin, Mercedes could have difficulty maintaining its place on the podium. And if Alpine regained color from the second Grand Prix of the season, Wolff and his teams will have to engage in a race against time to unveil a new version of the car and stop brooding.

ALSO READ > Mercedes facing the unacceptable