2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[r85]

Mike Elliot did mention that the upgraded car will be an evolution of their current concept. Perhaps it's more of a transition to a very early iteration of the W15?

[tinuva]

Unsure how believable these are:

[taperoo2k]

Still doesnt stack up to me.

It does stack up. If a team spot a problem too late in the design process or when parts are already in production then all you can do is figure out the issues, then work on a fix/upgrade that you can bring to the car once the season has started (it happened to McLaren). You also have to remember that the crash tests for new cars are quite extensive with little time to fix problems to pass a test before the start of a season. So changing a design concept late in the day, just isn't practical under the cost cap if you want to be able to start the season and not miss races.

If the issues are down to the wind tunnel models not being upto spec and they have been fixed then I do think Mercedes can catch Red Bull before the regulations change in 2026. If I were a Mercedes fan I'd be hoping for steady improvements over the course of this season that gets them ever closer to Red Bull. They should be aiming to secure 2nd place in the Constructors championship. Red bull don't look catchable unless they have a slew of reliability issues and crashes.

[AR3-GP]

Unsure how believable these are:

I think it's an interesting take on what a potential Mercedes sidepod revision could look like. That's just a show car but the idea is there. It's another idea which shows that it's possible for Merc to still look quite different to the others.

It remains to be seen what the actual car will look like however...

[zibby43]

Unsure how believable these are:

I think it's an interesting take on what a potential Mercedes sidepod revision could look like. That's just a show car but the idea is there. It's another idea which shows that it's possible for Merc to still look quite different to the others.

It remains to be seen what the actual car will look like however...

Pretty sure that basic show car’s floor is still more complex to the bafflingly underdeveloped one that launched on the W13

[Jdn1327]

Unsure how believable these are:

I think it's an interesting take on what a potential Mercedes sidepod revision could look like. That's just a show car but the idea is there. It's another idea which shows that it's possible for Merc to still look quite different to the others.

It remains to be seen what the actual car will look like however...

Pretty sure that basic show car’s floor is still more complex to the bafflingly underdeveloped one that launched on the W13

I read an article on the the race that Gary Anderson refers to the fact that Mercedes won't be changing their concept at all. They'll just be revising the suspension and underfloor aero. If that's the case I think Hamilton and Russell may question their place in the team.

[DGP123]

Russell won’t question his place, he’s there for the long haul. On the other hand, it’s probably why the Hamilton Ferrari stuff is everywhere again.

As I’ve said before, I don’t see Merc competitive for at least two more seasons.

[Jdn1327]

Russell won’t question his place, he’s there for the long haul. On the other hand, it’s probably why the Hamilton Ferrari stuff is everywhere again.

As I’ve said before, I don’t see Merc competitive for at least two more seasons.

Agreed fully. Yeah Russell still has a lot of years left in him. I see Hamilton becoming a journeyman of sorts over the grid. Kind of like Alonso.

[mkay]

Russell won’t question his place, he’s there for the long haul. On the other hand, it’s probably why the Hamilton Ferrari stuff is everywhere again.

As I’ve said before, I don’t see Merc competitive for at least two more seasons.

Agreed fully. Yeah Russell still has a lot of years left in him. I see Hamilton becoming a journeyman of sorts over the grid. Kind of like Alonso.

I disagree. Hamilton has enough interests outside of F1 to call it quits if he feels he cannot perform or has no realistic shot at winning more titles.

He's not going to embark on "long-shot" projects by joining Alpine or McLaren (which is what Alonso has done). Seeing as Red Bull is off-limits and Aston unlikely to make room for him, then it's really about staying put at Mercedes (most likely outcome) or a shot at Ferrari.

[mendis]

Russell won’t question his place, he’s there for the long haul. On the other hand, it’s probably why the Hamilton Ferrari stuff is everywhere again.

As I’ve said before, I don’t see Merc competitive for at least two more seasons.

Agreed fully. Yeah Russell still has a lot of years left in him. I see Hamilton becoming a journeyman of sorts over the grid. Kind of like Alonso.

I disagree. Hamilton has enough interests outside of F1 to call it quits if he feels he cannot perform or has no realistic shot at winning more titles.

It's been 2 years now that he doesn't have a realistic shot at winning more titles. But he has continued. There is no reason to believe he would have for 24/25 either. But I think he would continue for so long as he can net $50 million a year. I said this before and say it again, money loses value very quickly and whatever he has earned, wouldn't be sufficient enough to maintain a luxurious lifestyle for the next 30 years. I am sure he understands it and wouldn't let go a $100 millions while he can still net it. I don't think any of his interests outside of F1 would earn him that when he isn't an F1 driver anymore.

[zibby43]

I think it's an interesting take on what a potential Mercedes sidepod revision could look like. That's just a show car but the idea is there. It's another idea which shows that it's possible for Merc to still look quite different to the others.

It remains to be seen what the actual car will look like however...

Pretty sure that basic show car’s floor is still more complex to the bafflingly underdeveloped one that launched on the W13

I read an article on the the race that Gary Anderson refers to the fact that Mercedes won't be changing their concept at all. They'll just be revising the suspension and underfloor aero. If that's the case I think Hamilton and Russell may question their place in the team.

Is Gary hedging his bets, because I read an article from him suggesting the opposite.

“ Mercedes has no option but to go for it. From what we know, the car has had to have some major surgery to be able to package the new sidepods and front suspension geometry, so for the team there is no going back.”

https://the-race.com/formula-1/gary-and ... -gp-debut/

[organic]

https://formu1a.uno/mercedes-w14-cosa-a ... -sviluppo/

Mercedes has evaluated the upgrade
2 tenths (for Imola), we will see it in Montecarlo, it will only be a first step in a different direction of development

[mkay]

Agreed fully. Yeah Russell still has a lot of years left in him. I see Hamilton becoming a journeyman of sorts over the grid. Kind of like Alonso.

I disagree. Hamilton has enough interests outside of F1 to call it quits if he feels he cannot perform or has no realistic shot at winning more titles.

It's been 2 years now that he doesn't have a realistic shot at winning more titles. But he has continued. There is no reason to believe he would have for 24/25 either. But I think he would continue for so long as he can net $50 million a year. I said this before and say it again, money loses value very quickly and whatever he has earned, wouldn't be sufficient enough to maintain a luxurious lifestyle for the next 30 years. I am sure he understands it and wouldn't let go a $100 millions while he can still net it. I don't think any of his interests outside of F1 would earn him that when he isn't an F1 driver anymore.

I don't disagree with you at all. Clearly if teams are willing to pay him $40m/year to drive for them, he'll take it. He's clearly changed his tune on retirement, in large part due to the way he lost the 2021 title. I fully believe that his outlook for 2024-2026 would have been materially different had he clinched an 8th title in 2021.

As it turns out, there is a near perfect overlap between the teams that are most likely to challenge RB in the next 2-3 years and the ones that have the capability to pay him $40m/year.

Also, he was under contract for both 2022 and 2023. He clearly values his relationship with Mercedes enough not to have pulled a Rosberg and suddenly retired without fulfilling the terms of his contract.

[Just_a_fan]

I said this before and say it again, money loses value very quickly and whatever he has earned, wouldn't be sufficient enough to maintain a luxurious lifestyle for the next 30 years. I am sure he understands it and wouldn't let go a $100 millions while he can still net it. I don't think any of his interests outside of F1 would earn him that when he isn't an F1 driver anymore.

He's been pulling in $40m a year plus personal sponsorship. If he's managed not to invest that sensibly then earning any more won't help him anyway. The man's got $250-300m in the bank according to various sources. You think that's not going to keep him in silly clothes for the rest of his life?

[PlatinumZealot]

If someone paid ke millions to do an adrenaline filled activity that I love, and am extremely good at why wouldn't I keep doing that? It's not like Lewis has ever said he hates travelling, or the limelight, or wants to be near family, like what we normally hear other drivers who decided to stop. There are really very few reasons for him not to keep going another three to five years.