A new season, new challenges, and a new car. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team recently unveiled their 2023 contender, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E PERFORMANCE. After a difficult 2022 season, the team is eager to get back to the front of the grid and compete for a world championship.
The W14 is the result of lessons learned from the W13 and retains the underlying concept while improving on core performance areas. The car retains the distinctive DNA of its predecessor and introduces a combination of notable changes that are visible on first inspection, such as the gulley bodywork on the engine cover, and others beneath the surface.
The car’s appearance is not just limited to its architecture. The iconic black livery from 2020 and 2021 has been refined as part of a significant project to reduce overall weight. The car will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who will be lining up for their second season together, supported by Mick Schumacher in his role as third driver.
Team Principal & CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, Toto Wolff, said, “Our hopes and expectations are always to be capable of fighting for a World Championship. However, our competitors were very strong last year, and we are playing catch-up. Racing at the front requires resilience, teamwork, and determination. We face up to every challenge, we put the team first, and we will leave no stone unturned in the chase for every millisecond. This year, we are going all in to get back in front.”
Last year was challenging, but the team learned a lot from it. Toto commented, “I hope 2023 will be proof that we have understood how to unravel the problems and improve the package of the car.” The team has tried to keep all the positive aspects of the W13 and address its weaknesses.
The challenge of unlocking the performance in last year’s car, while troubleshooting the problems that the team could address in-season, was met head-on by both Brackley and Brixworth. Notably, the development over the year led to a memorable one-two finish at the São Paulo Grand Prix. The progress throughout 2022 excites Technical Director, Mike Elliott.
“Last year, once we had figured out what we needed to do, it took a huge amount of work to get ourselves moving forward. Towards the end of the season, you could see the performance improving, and the winter has been a reset. We have done all the things that we wanted to do with the W13 last year but weren’t able to because of resource constraints or because our focus was elsewhere fixing other issues,” he said.
The areas targeted for improvement include reducing overall weight, giving the drivers a more consistent car balance across the speed range, and better matching the aerodynamic characteristics to the demands of the aero regulations. This is reflected in areas such as a significantly lighter chassis, revised front suspension geometry, cooling system adjustments, and a refined aerodynamic concept based on last year’s learning.
