The Bahrain Grand Prix saw Mercedes’ worst fears come true, as the team were once again miles away from Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
The Silver Arrows decided to begin the season with the same zero sidepod design that they used last year, believing that this was not the main cause of their problems in 2022.
Unfortunately, the W14 is currently unable to compete at the front of the grid, with Red Bull, Ferrari and even Aston Martin being quicker than Mercedes so far this season.
Aston Martin being quicker than Mercedes will be especially painful to the Silver Arrows as the team are an engine customer of Mercedes.
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With both Mercedes and Aston Martin using the same power unit this season, it proves that Aston Martin’s car design is what is giving them the edge over Lewis Hamilton’s team.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has already admitted that his team has made a mistake with the design of the W14 and that they will be exploring a different pathway moving forward.
It has also been suggested that with Mercedes clearly already out of title contention, they could give up on 2023 to focus on next year’s car, hoping to design a car for next season that can compete for race wins from the very start.
Rumours have now emerged that Mercedes could be considering giving Aston Martin a more powerful engine this season to allow Mercedes to get the highest possible finish as an engine manufacturer.
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“Mercedes chiefs are said to be willing to pay more attention to giving [Fernando] Alonso the fastest engine if their own car fails to perform in the next two races, which take place in Saudi Arabia and Australia,” Express have reported.
Fernando Alonso has suggested the Aston Martin will know roughly what they can expect from this season after the next two races, as these tracks present different challenges for the team.
Should Mercedes decide to focus more of their attention on Aston Martin this season, it will come as a major kick in the teeth for Lewis Hamilton who is targeting an eighth world championship title before he retires.