Mercedes have teased their fans ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix next weekend, with their highly anticipated new concept set to be introduced.
The W14’s new concept was supposed to be introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix; however, following its cancellation it was decided that the upgrades would be introduced at the Circuit de Monaco.
With Monaco being as unique as it is, some have questioned whether it’s the correct decision to introduce the new concept at the legendary venue, rather than at the Spanish Grand Prix.
With the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya being a much more traditional circuit and the previous host of pre-season testing, many saw it as the perfect place to introduce the new concept, rather than at Monaco where little real data will be gathered.
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Regardless, Mercedes are pushing on with their development plans, meaning it’s a huge unknown just how competitive they’ll be at the most prestigious race on the calendar.
There are several questions over the new concept which Monaco will answer, most notably, will the ‘zero-sidepods’ survive?
The general belief is that Mercedes will introduce new sidepods, whilst team principal Toto Wolff has already confirmed that the new concept will see new bodywork, floor and front suspension.
Mercedes’ social media admin are clearly making the most of the build-up to their new concept, by teasing fans over what the car will look like in Monaco.
They posted an aerial shot of the W14 to social media with George Russell as the front wing, whilst they joked that it was an “upgrade” picture.
Mercedes wrote on Twitter: “*Admin drop the upgrade pics* Say no more…”
Despite the humour, the next two races are set to be crucial for Mercedes, in order to discover whether their new concept is indeed a step in the right direction.
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With the Germans already being 128 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, they can’t afford another setback, a risk they are taking by introducing what could be deemed as a new car.
Lewis Hamilton and Russell will be praying for the new concept to be a success, with the upcoming upgrade arguably being the Silver Arrows’ final hope of having a successful season.
Should the concept bring them closer to Red Bull, then perhaps the title fight won’t just be between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after all.