Mercedes finally drop ‘zeropod’ concept with revised W14 F1 car at Monaco GP
The long-awaited updates, originally scheduled for the cancelled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, include new bodꦑywork, a new floor and front suspension in a bid to impr🐟ove the competitiveness of their underperforming 2023 challenger.
Mercedes’ revised W14 now features a more convenꦚtional sidepod design which draws similarities to the one adopted by Aston Martin, who have emerged as Red Bull’s nearest challengers inꦅ 2023.
It is🦄 🐻the result of Mercedes’ decision to change their unique design philosophy which was first introduced at the start of F1’s new era of regulations in 2022.
But after a difficult 2022 season which featured just a single victory, 💎and having started the new campaign well off🍎 the pace, Mercedes conceded they needed to change concepts to get back to the front of the grid.
The upgrades were seen publicly for the first time i💫n the Monaco pitlane on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’𓄧s grand prix.
Mercedes boss Tot꧃o Wolff has warned that the upgrades will not be a “silver bullet”.
"We need to be careful not to draw too many conclusions from this one event," Wolff said. "We are🐼 introducing the first step in a new development direction.
"It won't be a silver bullet; from my experience, they do not exist in our sport. We hope that it gives the drivers a more stable and predictable platform. The🐼n we can build on that in the weeks and months ahead.
"F1 is to🎃ugh competition and a meritocracy. We are not where we want to be but there's no sense of entitlement. It's just about hard work to get us to the front."
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