Mercedes not reluctant to retire their “really fast” W14 at the end of the 2023 F1 season amidst road to resurgence 

Toto Wolff warns that overturning championship results could create chaos in Formula 1

Mercedes not reluctant to retire their “really fast” W14 at the end of the 2023 F1 season amidst road to resurgence 

Mercedes' W14 (Credits: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)

This year’s Mercedes W14 closely follows the concept of the W13 from the previous year, which was based on their last victory in Brazil. However, this approach was later recognized as a poor choice for the 2023 season. Despite the W14’s recent improvement, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is not reluctant about retiring it for a new direction in the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Mercedes experienced one of its most unpredictable weekends of the season, with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell hunting for a podium finish. Unfortunately, Russell’s podium hopes came to an abrupt halt when he crashed on one of the final laps at turn 10, allowing Hamilton to secure third place. Despite the progress shown by Mercedes last weekend, the ongoing concern remains the unpredictability of the W14 in terms of track performance and race pace.

Despite the W14’s recent improvement in performance, Toto Wolff has made it clear that there’s no reluctance to shift the team’s focus towards an entirely different direction for the 2024 season.

“We will throw this one in the bin when it’s really fast and then embark on a new journey,”

“Every learning that we have this year is going to be valuable next year – but obviously nobody is working on the current cars anymore.” said Toto Wolff, as reported by autosports.com

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Toto Wolff warns that overturning championship results could create chaos in Formula 1

Felipe Massa lost the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton
Felipe Massa lost the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton

The situation arose when Felipe Massa claimed that during the 2008 Singapore GP, where he narrowly lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton by one point, was manipulated. This suspicion arose when it was revealed that Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed, and it became known that sports leader were aware of this incident.

In light of this situation, Toto Wolff acknowledged that if everyone were to open up past situations, it could lead to disarray in the sport, particularly when considering the overall championships.

“If everybody were to open up situations then the sport would be in disarray and especially when you look at the full championships,” 

“We are signing up to sporting regulations that are very clear and you commit [to] as a license holder….So many things that have an influence whether you win or lose that I don’t see the case to be honest.” Concluded Toto Wolff.

In the 2021 season, Lewis Hamilton controversially lost the championship to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the final race in Abu Dhabi, where the safety car procedure was altered by the race director Michael Masi. The Felipe Massa case could potentially have an impact on the 2021 championship as well.

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