Mercedes would replicate rival teams' designs but “revolution is not necessary"

Mercedes are looking to muscle their way back into F1 title contention this year after seeing their unprecedented run of eight consecutive constructors’ title come to an end during a miserable 2022 campaign. 

The Silver Arrows struggled to adapt to the overhauled new technical regulations and their W13 car was plagued by excessive porpoising and bouncing issues, resulting in Mercedes slipping behind Red Bull and Ferrari to third place in the F1 2022 constructors’ standings. 

Wolff has already hinted at changes to the “architecture” of their W14 car for the 2023 season but it remains to be seen whether Mercedes will abandon their unique ‘zero sidepod’ concept to instead replicate Red Bull’s approach. 

“Revolution is not necessary if you understand where to start,” Wolff told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. 

“In general, the point is that stability and a safe environment are enormously important in Formula 1. That is precisely our strength. That’s what made us learn faster in 2022.

“I think we already have to change some things where we found they didn’t work. We had a discussion with a stakeholder. He asked us: Are you changing the concept? My answer was: What does concept mean?

“Does it refer to what is visible from the outside – narrow or wide side boxes? Or does concept mean differences in the architecture, in the weight distribution, with the aerodynamic window? In other words, things that are not visible. There is no sacred plan with us. We mercilessly question everything.

“If we had to do something that looked like another car, we would do it without a doubt. At the moment, everything is going in the direction of things that take place under the bodywork. 

“That can and hopefully will contribute to our performance getting better again.”

Mercedes were able to ensure they did not go the entire season winless, courtesy of George Russell’s maiden grand prix victory in Brazil, and Wolff hopes the result will act as a springboard for a much-improved 2023 campaign. 

“The victory was certainly important in confirming our development direction,” he said. “We believe that before the summer we understood where we were going wrong.

“That’s not something you can change from one day to the next. You need many months of lead time. We have clearly seen a trend for the better – on tracks that suit the configuration of our car and the aerodynamic properties. That was already good in Austin and Mexico, and even better in Brazil.

“By winning, we were able to tick off this item on our list as well. No one can say that Mercedes didn’t win a race in 2022. And not only did we win it, but we won the sprint and finished first and second in the Grand Prix. That was not a fluke this weekend. 

“We probably could have won a few more races if we had either made fewer mistakes or had a bit more performance.