2023 is a monumental year for Mercedes, with the Germans desperately needing to bounce back from their woeful 2022 campaign.
Last season saw the Silver Arrows perform well below the standards they’ve set themselves since the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014, largely as a result of the side having failed to design a truly competitive car for the new aerodynamic era of the sport.
Whilst the team’s design was revolutionary, they were the biggest victims of the horrific porpoising phenomena, something which saw the side have to switch their focus to solving their bouncing issues, rather than car development.
Mercedes did eventually get on top of the issue, and rescue one victory, to at least give them something to celebrate.
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Slipping to third in the Constructors’ Championship, though, certainly wasn’t what the Germans desired, putting further emphasis on returning to the front in the forthcoming season.
Considering that the Brackley-based team won the title every year from 2014-2021, to see them fall off the top step was extraordinary, with it being a rarity nowadays.
Whether they can return to the front this year is up to them, with the side having worked tirelessly over the winter to ensure that they’re entering 2023 with a much more competitive car.
That does appear to be the case, with the side having reportedly found more power in their engine, whilst they’ve also been able to get their car down to the minimum weight of 798kg.
However, not everything is reportedly going Mercedes’ way, with thejudge13.com having revealed that their sources have told them that the Germans discovered faults with their suspension.
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According to the site, Mercedes ‘are hurriedly manufacturing metallic suspension arms after faults were found with the carbon bones they originally designed and fitted’.
The reported fault is believed to be hugely significant, with the W14’s carbon tub having also reportedly flexed more than the Germans intended.
Despite this, the car did pass its FIA crash test; however, the site understands that Mercedes will have to add weight to the W14 to solve at least the tub issue, something which is an easy fix according to thejudge13.com.