The Mercedes W14 is the car with which Mercedes hopes to get back into the fight for the World Championship. Toto Wolff tried to keep a lucid approach, remembering the gaps that separated them from Red Bull and Ferrari. The work continues not without some hitches that have caused delays in the production process which is now forcing the technicians to work overtime to be ready for the presentation and shakedown on February 15th at Silverstone.Haas , Williams and Red Bull have lifted their (virtual) veils to unveil the liveries they will use in the 2023 season, which kicks off in just over three weeks in Bahrain . Then Alfa Romeo finally arrived to show us what, at least macroscopically, will be the C43, which took to the track a few hours ago in Barcelona for the first official shakedown of a 2023 F1 car.
However, the most important wait is for next week . Monday will start with the performance of Mclaren and the long-awaited Aston Martin. However, it will be the following two days, considering the (non) presentation by Red Bull, that will raise the adrenaline in most of the insiders and enthusiasts. On Tuesday 14th , Valentine’s Day for us Italians, the Ferrari SF-23 will be presented in Maranello while the following day , at Silverstone, Mercedes will unveil the W14 . The Anglo-German team is expected to have a strong response after a very disappointing 2022, which started slowly, due to strong porpoising problems, and ended in a dignified way but without ever being in the fight for the title. Poles and victories were possible mainly thanks to other people’s mistakes and fortunate circumstances, rather than their own merits, with the exception of Brazil . The Mercedes W14 will have to be the car, for Toto Wolff and his followers, that can get them back to fighting for the world titles.
Directly from the Silverstone circuit, the new weapon of the former world champion team will be unveiled next Wednesday at 10.15 am , in the presence not only of Toto Wolff, team TP, and the two official drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, but also of the third driver, shared with Mclaren, Mick Schumacher. The usual renders will be shown while the first images of the filming day that the Mercedes W14 will carry out on the famous English track will be published only at 2 pm.As for the livery, we shouldn’t expect any upheavals. The W14 will continue in the two-tone gray – black, with the now well-known red color of the sponsor and owner of the team’s shares, Ineos. There will be even more carbon parts on display, which are part of that important slimming job of the new Anglo-German car, which we had already talked about in recent weeks. It is a trend that we have already seen on the first real car presented, the Alfa Romeo C43, but which will concern all the teams in this 2023 season in order to be able to arrive or even go below the minimum weight, relying on a ballast, albeit limited by the technical regulation, to be positioned in convenient areas from the point of view of weight distribution. Although the minimum weight will remain the same as last season , 798 kg, compared to the 796 kg initially foreseen, however, with the increase in the weight of the tires and other electronic and non-electronic components, it was still a major challenge for the various teams being able to approach it, reach it or even surpass it. For this reason, even a few ounces removed thanks to a lack of coloring of the carbon, whichin the case of Mercedes exceeding the kilogram gain , it has become a popular choice among various teams.Despite the problems encountered and the limitations seen on the track last season, Mercedes will not completely abandon its aerodynamic philosophy called ‘zeropod’ . The frame will remain of the innovative philosophy that has distinguished the W13, i.e. with the burglary to move the radiators more internally, decreasing the exposed surface. In order to get ready for the presentation day, next Wednesday, the works were very hectic as the schedule was not fully respected and so extra work was asked in the last few weeks to many employees of the Anglo-German team. The problems involved the actual production of some parts, as late modifications were made to the W14 project.
The development and simulation work is continuing intensely in Brackley . The team is concentrating on the W14 project with all its strength and in the past weeks Toto Wolff has clearly expressed what his hope is for the start of the season: “ If the performances are what we hope for, we could participate in the fight for the top of the standings , but it would be a starting point. But we don’t take it for granted because the gaps that existed at the end of last season could also be confirmed”.A vision that we could almost define as pessimistic. Especially hearing the latest (few) rumors coming out of Brackley that would like the German engine to gain double-digit value, for what in all respects wants to be a season