F1 Rumour: Mercedes W14 Bahrain Was A Prototype - Full Car To Land At Baku GP
The Mercedes F1 team have been hard at work revamping their W13 design to tackle the challenges of the 2023 racing season. But after a disappointing first race at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the team and fans already consider the W14 a failure. But according to recent reports, the car we've seen is merely a prototype and huge developments are coming.
The team faced several challenges in the previous season, including porpoising, bottoming out, high levels of drag, and abnormal behaviour during cornering. To overcome these challenges, the team needed to develop a solid base on which to build their aerodynamics package. The W14 Proto is the answer to this need, providing a mechanically correct foundation without any porpoising, bottoming, or drag. According to these reports, we saw this during the Bahrain GP.
On top of this, the team had to evaluate the reliability and efficiency of the power unit to ensure the use of more stringent engine maps in races. The new lightened frame was also introduced to level with competitors.
The team has apparently made a conscious decision to sacrifice the first few seasonal outings to acquire data and develop updates for the W14. This move will allow the aerodynamic package to be brought to the track to support the W14 and close the gap to their rivals. This package, according to Salastamparacing.com, will be rolled out around April or before - potentially at the Baku Grand Prix.
As we expected, the channels that run down the engine cover produce downforce, but this is reportedly not creating lateral downforce, leading to the increased tyre degradation we saw in Bahrain. This will be a focus for the Brackley team after seeing how little tyre deg the Red Bull RB19 encountered.
With the Milton Keynes squad so far ahead in terms of lap times, it's difficult to answer whether these updates will squash this difference enough, but Mercedes fans will certainly be crossing their fingers right now.