Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff says the design of rival F1 teams will “definitely” take inspiration, but that “a revolution is not needed”.
Earlier this month, Wolff said the W14, Mercedes’ F1’s 2023 car looking to turn its fortunes around last year’s troubled season, would be “full of surprises”.
Aesthetically, the Mercedes W14 isn’t expected to stray from last season’s Silver Arrows, but underneath the bodywork, things like chronic porpassing issues that have heavily impacted the 2022 Grand Effect design. Large-scale changes are expected to resolve
It remains to be seen whether Mercedes F1 will keep the impressive ‘zero sidepod’ concept that has characterized last year’s F1 cars. However, Toto Wolff has confirmed that the team’s engineers are not making any major revolutions regarding the design of the 2023 F1 car.
“We don’t need a revolution if we know where to start,” he told Toto Wolff’s Auto Motor und Sport.
“In general, stability and a safe environment are very important in Formula 1. That’s exactly our strength. That’s why we learned faster in 2022.”
“We already think we have to change some things that we know are not working. We have talked to our shareholders.”
“He asked us, ‘Are you going to change the concept?’ And my answer was, ‘What do you mean by concept?’ Or is it the difference in architecture, weight distribution and aerodynamic windows?
“We have no sanctuary. Relentlessly questioning everything.”
Red Bull’s RB18 was top class last season. Mercedes has always taken the lead on the design side, but if the engineers see a concept worth replicating, they don’t hesitate to implement it, says Wolff. .
“If I had to do something similar to other cars, I would definitely do it. Right now everything is going in the direction that it is done under the bodywork.”
“It could help us perform better again, and I hope it will.”
Mercedes F1 was rescued from a winless run last season by George Russell’s flawless win at the Brazilian Grand Prix. But Russell’s victory has special meaning for the team and for the future, says Toto Wolff.
“It was certainly of triumphant importance in confirming our development direction,” said Wolff.
“I believe we understood before the summer where we went wrong.”
“It’s not something that can be changed overnight. It takes months of lead time.”
“There was a clear positive trend on the track where the car configuration and aerodynamics were good. It was already good in Austin and Mexico, and even better in Brazil.”
“With the win, we also cleared this item on the list. No one can say Mercedes couldn’t win the race in 2022. And not only did we win the race, we won the sprint, We also got 1st and 2nd in the Grand Prix, so that weekend was no fluke.”
“If we had made fewer mistakes or performed a little bit more, we could have probably won a few more races.”
/data/photo/2022/11/05/63663d09927ab.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
