F1 News: Mercedes make crucial development breakthrough for 2023 season
Mercedes have the challenging task of closing the gap to Red Bull over the winter break, and recent indications suggest the Silver Arrows are on the right path.
The Brackley squad enjoyed strong form at the end of 2022, securing their only race victory of the season courtesy of George Russell at the Brazilian GP.
Lewis Hamilton also demonstrated the potential at Mercedes throughout various points of last year's campaign, coming close to victory in Hungary and Britain.
The Briton's comeback in Spain was also highly impressive, with Hamilton's race pace equal to that of Max Verstappen in his RB18.
Porpoising was the W13's Achilles heel last year, forcing Mercedes to expend significant resources to address this issue in the early stages of the year.
Fortunately for Mercedes, this issue was largely eliminated by the season finale.
Additionally, per formu1a.uno, Mercedes is now able to simulate porpoising in the wind tunnel as they prepare for 2023.
Whilst this is no silver bullet, this development will allow Mercedes to more accurately gauge the risks of the W14's design over the winter period.
It is understood the German manufacturer will continue with its 'zero sidepod' concept next season, so ensuring the problem of porpoising does not reappear is crucial.
Mercedes Technical director Mike Elliott has analysed the team's position:
"In the first part of the season, we gave up a large chunk of performance from the wind tunnel work to try to massively reduce porpoising.
"And I think what we say in Barcelona was a car that we could finally drive the way we wanted, in terms of ground clearance.
"We arrived in Austin with a car that didn't outperform Red Bull but at least put us in a reasonable position.
"We could say that our development has taken us in the right direction and given us some confidence in what we are doing for the future."
Mercedes has turned itself into a goliath of the sport in the last decade and will work to restore its former dominance next season.
Extra wind tunnel time will prove a beneficial advantage over the winter, but it remains to be seen whether Mercedes can maximise this advantage.