Mercedes confirm more upgrades on the way for the Spanish F1 GP to ‘build upon’ their performance in Monaco 

Mercedes technical director James Allison has confirmed that more upgrades are on the way for the upcoming 2023 Spanish GP. The team recently unveiled the upgraded W14 at the Monaco GP, with the revised challenger featuring conventional sidepods.

The Silver Arrows decided to abandon their failed 'zeropods' concept in favor of more traditional sidepods. While the new design isn't exactly the one adopted by teams such as Red Bull and Aston Martin, the team has conceded that their initial design wasn't working.

The team fared well in Monaco, but it is unclear whether Ferrari's weak strategies helped the German team finish P4 and P5 on the grid. The track in Monte Carlo is atypical in that it doesn't allow teams to see the effects of their upgrades. As a result, this weekend's Spanish GP will be the true testing ground for the Brackley-based team.

To make matters more interesting, James Allison has confirmed that Mercedes will be bringing in additional upgrades to Barcelona, improving their chances further. Allison said (via Mercedes' YouTube page):

“And many more things in the races that follow (…) the upgrades will keep coming. Hopefully a decent package to build upon with what we put on the track in Monaco.”

Mercedes' George Russell rues P5 finish

George Russell expressed his disappointment with his fifth-place finish in Monaco, attributing it to a driving mistake that prevented him from securing an easily attainable podium position. He regretted that his error went unnoticed on television, causing friends to send congratulatory messages unaware of his missed opportunity.

In Monte Carlo, both Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Russell, delivered commendable performances, capitalizing on Ferrari's questionable strategy in the race's final stages.

Russell had been performing exceptionally well and firmly believed that he would have clinched a podium spot if he hadn't made an uncharacteristic mistake while switching to intermediate tires during a pit stop.

Under the wet conditions, the British driver locked up and was compelled to utilize a run-off area, resulting in a loss of ground to the frontrunners. Speaking to the media after the race, George Russell said:

“I actually learned that my mistake wasn’t actually shown on television until a replay after the race. I don’t think it was actually clear to many people that we were effectively P3 on-track and lost it. So a lot of people were texting me saying well done for P5 not realising that I actually made a big mistake and cost us P3.”

Let's see what the Silver Arrows can conjure up this weekend in Barcelona for the 2023 Spanish GP.