Mercedes Formula 1 technical director Mike Elliott says the team is looking at all areas as it evaluates a concept change for the W14 car.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix, team boss Toto Wolff made it clear that it was time to look at a change in direction and that there would be no “sacred cows” in terms of established ideas.
The definition of what exactly is involved in the concept of an F1 car has been a topic of conversation in recent weeks, and Wolff has made it clear that it extends beyond the ‘size zero’ brand sides that the team transfer from last year’s W13 to your current car.
Speaking in a Q&A video from Mercedes, Elliott acknowledged that the definition of the concept is loose.
“The simple answer is that it means different things to different people,” he said. “I think after Bahrain we had to accept that we weren’t where we wanted to be, that we had to look at all the things that make up our car and figure out what we could be doing differently, how we could get more performance, because we have a gap important to put us in front.
“So the engineers are busy looking at aerodynamics, they’re looking at the shape of the car, things like sidepod geometry, floor geometry, have we missed a trick?
“But we’re also looking in the simulation world are we driving the right things, are we pushing the aerodynamics in the right direction?
“We’re looking at the mechanical set-up of the car, are there things we’re missing? What else can we bring to the car that will bring performance? And we’re trying to do it as quickly as possible because we want to get back to the front.
“We want to be racing at the top, and the only way to do that is by accepting that we’re not in the position we want to be, fighting and working really hard to get back there.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Elliott stressed that the W14’s poor performance in Bahrain was a “reality check” for the Brackley team, but noted that it has encouraged the team to look for solutions.
“Obviously Bahrain was a real reality check and to find ourselves in the position we’re in, not being competitive, was a real disappointment,” he said. “A disappointment for the whole team.
“But you have to get past that and you have to turn it into what are we going to do about it? How are we going to bring the kind of energy and what are we capable of doing?
“How are we going to move forward? How do we get back into the fight?
“And actually walking around the factory there’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of work, we’re starting to see some of the development that will get us back into that championship fight.
“All we can do is keep pushing. I’m very happy to see the attitude of the team.”
Asked about potential form at the Australian GP, he said: “First of all, our main focus at the moment is to continue learning. We’ve only had two races so far. It’s very difficult to create trends from that.
“In terms of the actual characteristics of the circuit, Australia is probably limited up front and probably more like Jeddah than Bahrain. So hopefully we can find another little step forward, be a bit more competitive, find the learning that we it will help to move forward in the long term”.
