Delving into the differences between the Mercedes W14 and its predecessor
The Mercedes W14 builds upon the strengths of the W13 while trying to solve the persistent issues from last year.
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The Mercedes W14 and the Mercedes W13
Mercedes has finally unveiled its 2023 F1 challenger. The Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance. The car is painted in a striking all-black livery with exposed carbon to save weight. The German team is confident about the new car’s pace after learning from last season. The Silver Arrows previously tried an ambitious ‘zeropods’ design in 2022 and this effort continues this season as well.
The most notable change in the overall design of the Mercedes W14 is the front nose. The Silver Arrows have adopted a much shorter nose as compared to 2022’s W13. Subsequently, the front wing endplates have moved a lot closer to the nose of the car. Certainly, this will have significant impact on how the car behaves heading into a corner and could provide massive gains.
The Mercedes W14 sidepods continue to follow the ‘zeropods’ concept. Mercedes had shocked the paddock in 2022 after showing up to testing with this sidepod layout. Unfortunately, the team could not extract the most out of it. However, the Silver Arrows continue to have faith in this design. Albeit the position of the inlets have been tweaked. The sidepod inlets now stand higher up than before. Certainly, it will be interesting to see how Lewis Hamilton and George Russell feel about the car’s dynamics soon.
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Can the Mercedes W14 fight for the title?
The other changes in the new Mercedes challenger include a new position for the cooling inlets on the sides. Additionally, the shark fin design has also been altered for this season. Lastly, there now lies an updated floor underneath the bodywork, in a bid to get the most out of the ground effect. Hence, Mercedes has worked extensively over the winter and worked toward an improved overall package.
Toto Wolff is optimistic about the team’s chances this season. Mercedes have stuck with the DNA of its predecessor for the W14. This is a slightly different approach that some of its rivals who have resorted to following Red Bull’s aero philosophy after the dominant RB18. Certainly, the Silver Arrows have what it takes to get back to winning ways this season as the team tries to improve on its own ideas.
However, there is a long way to go before fans get a chance to predict the pecking order in F1 this year. Many hope to see Mercedes fighting for the world championship in 2023 alongside arch-rivals Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull. Although it is too early to tell, the Silver Arrows sure look at a better place than they were a year ago. Consequently, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell might just have the chance to push to the limit this season.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2339 Articles Published)