There was a period during their record run of eight consecutive world championships from 2014 to 2021 that Mercedes looked unbeatable.
However, when new rules were introduced to Formula 1 last year, changing car designs to provide better racing, Mercedes’ outlook changed dramatically. The team did not adapt to the new rules as well as the Red Bull and Ferrari teams, and was unable to regularly compete for wins.
It was a day Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff always knew would come.
“Every year when we were successful, we discussed that eventually we’re going to have a tough one,” he said.
“There is no sports team in the world that has won every competition they have participated in. That moment came last year and it was difficult.”
Mercedes finished the year third in the standings, winning just one race and finishing 244 points behind champion team Red Bull, who won 17 races. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton went an entire season without winning a race for the first time in his Formula 1 career.
The experience has made Hamilton more cautious about his chances of reaching his 11th season with Mercedes.
“I wouldn’t say I’m as optimistic as I was last year,” Hamilton said. “I’d say it’s more prudent. I know that whatever we’re up against, we’ve got the best team to handle whatever we’re up against.”
The central issue Mercedes faced last year was a phenomenon called porpoise, where the car bounces when reaching high speeds due to the airflow stopping as it passes under the car. It was something every team faced, but Mercedes fought harder, even raising safety concerns after Hamilton reported back pain and headaches from the bounce.
But as Mercedes made changes to their car’s design mid-season to address the porpoise, more problems emerged. One of the biggest issues was the car’s cornering balance, making it difficult for drivers to feel confident pushing the limit.
Formula 1: on and off the track
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell said he wanted “more consistency and a more predictable car” from Mercedes this season. “If you could pick a balance you’d least like to have, the W13 would probably have it,” Russell said of last year’s car.
Hamilton had asked the team to focus on improving every element of the car, “from the rear tip to the front tip”. He said the W13 “didn’t behave as a racing car should”, prompting a push for changes for the new season. This included revised bodywork at the rear of the car as well as completely new front and rear suspension designs.
But Mercedes didn’t want to undo all their work with last year’s car. The team made major improvements towards the end of the season, allowing them to finish first and second at the penultimate race in Brazil, beating Red Bull and Ferrari.
Mike Elliott, the team’s technical director, said there was “a lot of goodness in the car” that he wanted to carry over to 2023, particularly its reliability and consistent performance over long stints in racing. “If we tear everything down and start over, you’re going to start further back,” he warned.
While many of the technical changes made to this year’s car are hidden under the bodywork, there was one very visible difference: the paint scheme, or in many places, the lack of one.
Weight was a big issue for teams under the new regulations. Due to enhanced safety requirements and heavier tires, many cars exceeded the minimum weight of 798 kilograms (1,759 pounds) last year, costing them lap times.
In an attempt to save weight, some teams removed the paint from parts of their cars, exposing the black carbon fiber. But Mercedes took this to the extreme with their new car. The team changed its paint scheme from silver to black, so it could easily expose more carbon without affecting the overall design of the livery. Only the nose, cockpit and engine cover are painted black, matching the black carbon fiber elsewhere.
“We’ve tried to figure out where we can extract every gram,” Wolff said. “There’s not tons of weight you can save on paint, but it shows the intent of what we do.” It also paid homage to the origin of Mercedes’ Silver Arrow moniker when the white paint on its racing cars was scraped off in 1934 to meet the weight limit for a race, exposing the silver chassis.
Hamilton said he was glad Mercedes’ weight issue had been taken seriously and that while he preferred the black livery to silver, he didn’t mind the colour.
“It’s all performance,” he said. “It’s not necessarily how it looks. It’s about how fast it goes.”
Hamilton will renew his bid for a record-breaking eighth drivers’ championship this year. Although he expected Mercedes to be quick enough to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari from the first race, he wanted to reserve judgment until he drove on track.
“It’s not until we get the car out on the road and figure out what it’s doing and where the limitations are that we can then turn the wheel and develop in that direction,” he said.
“But the best thing is that I think we have two strong drivers, so it will be clear straight away if there are problems. The guys understand the car a lot more to be able to deal with it. I’m excited.”
Max Verstappen, who won 15 races for Red Bull last year, expected Mercedes to pose a serious threat to his championship defense, which begins in Bahrain on Sunday.
“They will be our main rival, but I also think Ferrari will be strong,” he said. “Mercedes has shown, of course, over the last few years that they have always been very, very strong. They have a good group of people.”
But Wolff said Mercedes needed to “prove ourselves” and show the team had “made the right decisions” over the winter to create a competitive championship fight.
“I would love to fight up front,” he said. “That’s good for Formula 1. That’s what makes it so enjoyable.”
