How did Mercedes get its calculations wrong for its 2023 challenger? F1 Pundit explains

Prominent F1 journalist Mark Hughes explains how Mercedes got its calculations wrong for its 2023 challenger, the W14.

The W14 was significantly behind the Red Bulls in Bahrain's season opener last weekend, leading to a woeful result for the team.

The team isn't struggling with porpoising as it did last year. This time around, their challenger purely lacks the downforce and rear grip required to challenge the Red Bulls and Ferraris, putting them on the back foot. Hughes argues that while the Silver Arrows have built a significantly faster car compared to last year, other teams have made an even bigger jump in terms of overall pace.

Looking at their pace in isolation has been where Mercedes have got it wrong for the new season, argues Hughes. He said on the latest edition of The Race podcast:

"It's not that there's something missing as was the case last year. This is about how much performance they've found with this concept. It is a quicker car than last year. It qualified 7 tenths quicker than last year's car but that's further away than the pace of last year."

"So it is almost as if they have satisfied themselves in that they have made a significant jump in pace, but only in isolation. You can only know in isolation during the off-season."

---

Mercedes' gap to Red Bull has increased, claims Toto Wolff

According to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, the team's gap with Red Bull has significantly increased, possibly even doubling or tripling from the previous season. Unfortunately, Mercedes have had a disappointing start to the 2023 F1 season, with their car being the fourth fastest on the grid, trailing behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin.

Lewis Hamilton's performance was lackluster, finishing in fifth place and unable to compete for a podium position. The team's second driver, George Russell, had an even worse performance, finishing in seventh place.

Wolff expressed a pessimistic outlook after the race, describing it as the worst performance of his racing career. In response to questions from the media, including Sportskeeda, about the team's plan of action, Wolff said:

"That’s a good question and we will tackle it straight at the beginning of the week. When you look at where we were at the end of the season, where it seemed like we caught up a lot and it was just matter of which circuits suited us and which not. I think we’ve almost doubled, if not tripled [the deficit], to get to Red Bull. This is what we need to look at."

It remains to be seen whether Mercedes will be able to return to the top of the grid anytime soon.