When fans look back in history at all the wonderful and impressive pieces of machinery that Mercedes have produced during their time in Formula 1, the W13 will most likely not be mentioned.
The Silver Arrows’ 2022 car struggled for performance compared to the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull while also harbouring a major porpoising problem, that it took the team over half of the season to fix.
When the team eventually did manage to apply performance-based upgrades to the car towards the end of the season they suddenly became competitive, with George Russell picking up his maiden F1 win in Brazil.
It is this late resurgence that have given the team the faith that they can produce a competitive W14, having finally got their heads around the new regulations.
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Lewis Hamilton will be hoping that he can win a record breaking eighth world championship title this season and while former F1 driver Mark Blundell does not doubt the Brit’s ability, he claims that his success will depend on his team.
“I’m not sure it’s going to be possible for him to do it in 2023, I just am not sure that the car is going to be strong enough for him to do it,” he told PlanetF1.com.
“There’s no denying that Lewis’ ability is there to win a world championship, we’ve seen it time and time again.
“But you’re only as good as the car and something in the back of my mind niggles me that Mercedes is not going to come out as the fastest car on the grid for race one.
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“I’m not sure why, other than I think there’s a bit of focus that’s been lost inside.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has suggested the complete opposite however, claiming that such a humbling season has brought the team back down to earth and made them hungrier than ever for success.
Ferrari have reportedly shaved over a second off of their laptimes from last year with their new car, meaning that should Hamilton wish to be successful in 2023, he will have to beat both Ferraris and Red Bulls, making the task harder than ever.