Formula 1 pundit Luana Marino has admitted it will be difficult to break the spending limit, but Mercedes has no choice for the 2023 W14 car.
“Mercedes has made numerous changes after the difficult 2022 car, but has not entirely ripped up the existing concept, in its bid to rejoin the title fight.” Luana said.
Mercedes has already said it plans a refresh of the W14 and hasn’t ruled out using every possible resource, and for Luana, the German team really doesn’t have much choice and needs to make a decision in F1 2023.
It only took one race for Mercedes to realise that the W14 will be no match for Red Bull in the 2023 F1 season, to the point that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that the team is working on radical changes to the car’s concept.
Even if it is necessary to use all possible resources to replace it at the top of the grid.
Mercedes is already preparing an update package for the Emilia- Romagna GP, in Imola, a stage that opens the European leg of the calendar, and the idea is to modify the zero-pod concept.
However, Wolff previously claimed that their car for the 2023 season was good enough to lead seven-time world champion Hamilton to an eighth world title, but admitted on Friday that they were lost as to what was causing downforce issues.
“I think we have understood how we fell back, where the shortcomings are, and where we have gaps in understanding,” Wolff said.
“We’re working hard on putting a car on the ground that has addressed all of that. But we will only see when starting testing whether we have unlocked the potential that we believe has always been in the car.
“We have no doubt, when you’re starting behind by half a second, that it’s going to be difficult to catch up to such great organisations like Red Bull, or Ferrari.
“Now, having said that, we are super determined in doing just that. But we need to set our expectations at a realistic level.” Wolff added.
