F1 News: Mercedes Reveals Its New W14 Suspension Upgrade

It's been a long time coming, but Mercedes are finally bringing upgrades to the W14 after over a year of struggling with the zero-pod concept. As we now approach the Monaco Grand Prix, we're getting leaks of the changes coming to the disappointing car, and thanks to some keen photographers in the sovereign city state, we've finally got eyes on the new suspension.

It's a notable upgrade of the front suspension, and it doesn't take an engineer to notice distinct similarities to Red Bull's godly, Adrian Newey-designed system and even Aston Martin's setup.

Looking at the changes, it's evident that it utilises the same anti-dive idea used by Red Bull to maintain the aerodynamics of the car under braking thanks to the upper wishbone being mounted at a steeper angle like the RB19. If this is true, and the car moves less under braking, then the Brackley team could run a lower ride height, optimising the car's ground effect downforce.

According to Formula Data Analysis on Twitter, who's put a brilliant thread together on his analysis of the suspension changes, Mercedes could also be adjusting the negative camber of the front wheels, allowing for better mechanical grip under braking while losing a bit of mechanical grip in low-speed corners.

You can read the full thread here - this fella knows much more than me - but it's safe to say that the front suspension should be filling a few fans with excitement ahead of this weekend. With reports that it could lead to 2-tenths a lap, I wonder how Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are sleeping tonight.

Mercedes' front suspension redesign is significant too:

-The upper wishbone is now sloped downwards➡️Much higher anti-dive (the car will pitch more under braking, so it could be run lower!)
-Camber gain seems smaller than before➡️Better braking but worse low-speed understeer?🤔… pic.twitter.com/UiY40iR2NT
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) May 24, 2023