Copying rivals was not an option for Mercedes: 'Quick fix'

Initially, everyone held their breath when Mercedes came up with the zero-sidepod design, but the W13 did not perform as the team's simulations suggested. The car was plagued by porpoising, which stubbornly kept rearing its head. Moreover, problem after problem occurred and Mercedes could no longer predict when the erratic car would be competitive.

Despite this, the team stuck to the concept it had chosen, but towards the end of the season Mercedes had to acknowledge that it had gone down the wrong path. In all likelihood, therefore, the W14 will not look too much like its predecessor. The German racing stable has already admitted to looking at other teams' concepts for next year, but never saw outright copying of parts as an option.

Copying rivals was not an option for Mercedes

Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin acknowledges that copying other teams might have been a quick fix, but does not believe it would have worked in the long run. He stresses that most of the engineering, particularly from an aerodynamic point of view, is on the underside of the car and there was little choice for Mercedes but to commit to the concept it had chosen in 2022.

The German racing stable admits that a different sidepod concept might have worked better, but saw no long-term solution in that. "If we'd been more focused on just trying to find a quick fix, we may have been copying and rolling it out and seeing what it does," Shovlin is quoted as saying by Autosport.com.

He adds that Mercedes' goal was to find its own way and find a solution to the problems the team was running into. In addition, the Briton stressed that you do not become a champion by copying others. "All our other cars have had pioneering features on them, they had clever ideas. We have tried to be leading with the technology, so we'll carry on doing that," Shovlin said.