Mercedes has revealed its most recent F1 upgrade which includes redesigned sidepods in advance of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Mercedes has made more tweaks to its upgraded W14 car for the last race before the F1 summer break in their continuous effort to narrow the gap to championship leaders Red Bull.
The gap to Red Bull has widened despite Mercedes’ gains since the season’s start, as Max Verstappen is currently dominant and evidently unbeatable.
Mercedes is making progress with its development program in an effort to retake some ground in the battle for “best of the rest,” which is at the moment held by McLaren as a result of its recent comeback, which has given Lando Norris back-to-back podium results.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is adamant that they won’t be giving up on the season and will continue to pursue their development strategy to the maximum in an effort to catch up to Red Bull by the season’s end.
The W15 is probably going to be a refined version of the W14, which is itself a nearly brand-new car compared to last year’s model after Mercedes abandoned their zero-sidepod concept.
This approach could prove costly for certain seasons, but any development gains in 2023 will pay off for the coming year in part due to the regulations remaining very stable.
On Thursday in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock, pictures of the car being assembled in the garage were taken to show off a new sidepod inlet design.
The Mercedes sidepod concept has seen a considerable transformation as a result of this. It was entirely revamped as part of a larger upgrade package that was unveiled in Monaco earlier this year.
Updated sidepods on Mercedes have an air inlet that is more rounded, a greater amount of downwash, and a concave lower surface that is intended to improve outwash at the rear floor edge. These modifications are in conjunction with a new Spa-specific low-downforce rear wing.
Toto Wolff announced earlier this week that the German manufacturer would bring upgrades to Belgium and Lewis Hamilton also mentioned them during the press briefing on Thursday.
It’s unclear if both drivers will use the upgrades for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, despite the fact that its only George Russell’s car that features the modifications.
