Toto Wolff: Mercedes boss says W14 auto will ‘look pretty different’ by middle of the 2023 Formula 1 season

Mercedes have produced a disappointing get started to the 2023 Formula 1 season right after seeing their eight-year constructors’ title streak finish in 2022 Watch Saudi Arabian GP final practice reside on Saturday at 1.30pm on Sky Sports F1

Final Updated: 18/03/23 7:36am

Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ W14 auto will appear “pretty unique” in 5-to-seven races’ time right after confirming the group is now focused on “1 style philosophy”.

Right after getting caught out by the introduction of new style regulations final season and seeing their streak of eight successive constructors’ titles ended by Red Bull, Mercedes opted to stick with the very same style philosophy for the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Having said that, a poor overall performance at the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain earlier in March led to Wolff admitting the group had got it incorrect, and would be taking a unique path, with speculation swirling more than an alternate ‘Plan B’ auto style.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports F1 right after Friday practice at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Wolff offered an update on the team’s plans for the coming weeks.

He mentioned: “The query is what do you imply by a Strategy B auto?

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Karun Chandhok requires a close appear at Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes ahead of practice at the Saudi Arabia GP

Karun Chandhok requires a close appear at Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes ahead of practice at the Saudi Arabia GP

“I consider that the auto is going to appear pretty unique in 5, six or seven races primarily based on the choices that we have taken and the improvement path that we have embarked on.”

In addition to coming unstuck beneath the radical new 2022 regulations, Wolff says Mercedes’ capacity to recover from their blunders has been lowered by the sport’s expense cap, which was implemented in 2021.

“We all voted for the expense cap to kick in with the aim of establishing a much more level playing field,” Wolff mentioned.

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George Russell and Lewis Hamilton say they are hoping to ‘maximise’ their overall performance right after yet another tough day in practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton say they are hoping to ‘maximise’ their overall performance right after yet another tough day in practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

“We had been bitten by that, that is clear at this stage, but I do not want to ever say that the expense cap does not permit us to catch back up – it is much more tough but we basically have to.

“The moment we make a decision, which we’ve accomplished, which path to go, exactly where we want to have the auto, we’re just finding on with it and pushing really hard with that 1 style philosophy.”

‘Lauda would want us to copy style of other cars’

Neither Wolff nor Mercedes’ British driver pairing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have offered any detail on how the W14 will be altered, but the group boss appeared to hint that he believes moving towards the style of Red Bull’s pace-setting RB19 is the “very simple” selection.

Wolff was asked about what former Mercedes chairman and 3-time F1 globe champion Niki Lauda, who played a essential part in establishing the group as the sport’s dominant force ahead of his death in 2019, would have advised in their existing circumstance.

Niki Lauda (L) was a substantial aspect of Mercedes’ accomplishment ahead of his death in 2019

“I miss him a lot, but I miss him as a pal foremost,” Wolff mentioned. “We are all missing him as a chairman.

“For Niki it would have been pretty very simple, mainly because simplicity is what brings you to the finest choice and I know precisely what he would have mentioned.

“‘Our auto appears pretty unique, let’s make it like the other people and optimise it. We have a terrific group, we have terrific technologies and infrastructure, we can do it substantially much better than the other people, so why do not we just get on with it?

“Factors are pretty very simple generally. You can generally reduce all the nonsense out, and at the finish the very simple choices in life, which are pretty frequently instinctive choices added with each other with information that supports them, and this is how Niki operated. Do not overcomplicate issues, get the fundamentals ideal.”

‘There is a lot to discover from Aston Martin’

When Mercedes anticipated to get started the season behind reigning globe champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, the truth they had been beaten by Aston Martin in Bahrain came as a main surprise.

Considerable components of Aston Martin’s auto, which took Fernando Alonso to third behind the Red Bulls in Bahrain, are supplied by Mercedes, creating their impressive early-season overall performance much more damning to Wolff’s squad.

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Fernando Alonso overtook the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ahead of finding previous Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to finish third at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso overtook the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ahead of finding previous Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to finish third at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Alonso’s second-location finish in second practice in Saudi Arabia on Friday suggests Bahrain will not be a 1-off, but Wolff is attempting to take the positives and says he is satisfied to see his pal and Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll enjoying accomplishment.

“Why it assists us, they have the complete rear finish from our auto, the suspension, the engines, the gear box – all of that, so we know there are places that are definitely superior, that we mustn’t query also substantially,” Wolff mentioned.

“But it is other places exactly where the vehicles are fundamentally unique exactly where we require to set our concentrate – there is a lot to discover.

“Lawrence has gone by means of so lots of tough years, and now the group is on the up, they are productive, so it is for us to discover and not the other way about as it was for lots of years.”

Formula 1 street racing is back! Watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix reside on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race are reside at 5pm. Get Sky Sports