Toto Wolff: Mercedes boss says V14 car or truck ‘will appear incredibly different’ by midway via 2023 Formula 1 season | F1 News

Mercedes created a disappointing commence to the 2023 Formula 1 season just after their eight-year constructors’ streak ended in 2022 Watch the final practice of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix reside on Saturday at 1.30pm on Sky Sports F1

ten:46 UK Saturday 18 March 2023

Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ V14 car or truck will appear “incredibly distinctive” in 5 to seven races just after confirming the group is now focused on “a single style philosophy”.

Just after becoming caught off guard by the introduction of new style regulations final season and Red Bull ending their run of eight consecutive constructors’ titles, Mercedes has decided to stick with the very same style philosophy for the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Nevertheless, a poor overall performance at the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain earlier in March led to Wolff admitting the group had created a error and would go a distinctive route, with speculation surrounding an option “Strategy B” car or truck style.

Addressing exclusively Ski Sports F1 Rachel Brooks just after Friday’s practice session at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Wolff offered an update on the team’s plans for the coming weeks.

He mentioned: “The query is what do you imply by a program B car or truck?

Karun Chandhok requires a close appear at Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes ahead of practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

“I assume the car or truck will appear incredibly distinctive in 5, six or seven races primarily based on the choices we’ve created and the improvement path we’ve taken.

As effectively as becoming left with no radical new regulations from 2022, Wolff says Mercedes’ capability to recover from its blunders has been decreased by the sport’s price cap, which was introduced in 2021.

“We all voted for the spending cap to be place in location with the purpose of establishing a much more level playing field,” Wolff mentioned.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton say they hope to ‘maximize’ their overall performance just after a further difficult day in practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

“It has bitten us, that is clear at this stage, but I never want to say that the price constraint does not enable us to come back – it really is tougher, but we just have to.”

“The moment we choose, what we’ve performed, what path we want to go, exactly where we want to have the car or truck, we just go with it and push challenging for that a single style philosophy.”

‘Lauda desires us to copy the style of other cars’

Neither Wolff nor Mercedes’ British driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell gave any information on how the V14 would be modified, but the group boss appeared to hint that he believed moving towards the style of Red Bull’s pace-setting RB19 was a “uncomplicated” choice.

Wolff was asked what assistance former Mercedes chairman and 3-time F1 globe champion Niki Lauda, ​​who played a crucial part in establishing the group as a dominant force in the sport ahead of his death in 2019, would advise in their existing scenario.

Image: Niki Lauda (L) was a huge aspect of Mercedes’ accomplishment ahead of his death in 2019

“I miss him a lot, but I miss him as a pal 1st and foremost,” Wolff mentioned. “We all miss him as president.”

“For Nicky it would be incredibly uncomplicated, simply because simplicity is what leads you to the ideal choice and I know specifically what he would say.”

“Our car or truck appears incredibly distinctive, let’s make it like the other individuals and optimize it.” We have a fantastic group, we have fantastic technologies and infrastructure, we can do it a great deal greater than other individuals, so why not just go with it?

“Factors are usually incredibly uncomplicated. You can usually reduce out all the nonsense, and in the finish the uncomplicated choices in life, which are incredibly normally instinctive choices added to the information to assistance them, and this is how Nicki operated. overcomplicate issues, get the fundamentals correct.”

“A lot can be discovered from Aston Martin”

Even though Mercedes anticipated to commence the season behind reigning globe champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, the reality that Aston Martin beat them in Bahrain came as a massive surprise.

Considerable components of the Aston Martin car or truck, which took Fernando Alonso to third location behind the Red Bulls in Bahrain, are supplied by Mercedes, producing their impressive early season overall performance all the much more damning for Wolff’s group.

Fernando Alonso overtook Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ahead of overtaking Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to finish third at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Alonso’s second location in Friday’s second practice session in Saudi Arabia suggests Bahrain will not be a a single-off, but Wolff is attempting to take the positives and says he is satisfied to see his pal and Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll enjoying accomplishment.

“Why it aids us, they have the entire back finish of our car or truck, the suspension, the engines, the transmission – all of it, so we know there are regions that are seriously great that we cannot query also a great deal,” Wolff mentioned.

“But in other regions exactly where automobiles are fundamentally distinctive we will need to concentrate – there is a lot to study.”

“Lawrence has been via so a lot of complicated years and now the group is on the rise, they are productive, so it is up to us to study, not the other way about as it has been for a lot of years.

Formula 1 street racing is back! Watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix reside on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race are reside at five p.m. Get Ski Sports