Petronas-Mercedes W14 — What now?
Formula One
Every pure F1 enthusiast gasped with intrigue at the slender long profile of the Petronas-Mercedes W13 car at the pretesting unveiling in 2021. The narrowed sidepod and intricate corrugations of the floor of the car lining the side of the sidepod revealed a sophisticated aerodynamic principle that herald a new philosophy in F1 car design. Mercedes was true to its long wheelbase architecture and slender monocoque. The W13 was well toned like the result of a year long gym regime. Hints of venturi invoking profiles suggested a highly effective ground effect chassis.
The weight Bias of the car seemed to have been push further back. And the front wings flared upwards with winglets shaped to encourage outwash round the front wheels. An array of strategically located intricate vanes decorated the edges of the section of the chassis behind the front wheel, to funnel airflow into channels that moulded the air into a flow pattern demanded by the dynamic characteristics of the Mercedes design concept.
The W13 was a work of art. And arguably by far the most beautiful race car Mercedes F1 has ever created, in my opinion. It had all the hallmarks of a car that may dominate the 2021 season. Unfortunately, it had one performance inhibiting flaw; porpoising. It turned a wheel at testing to reveal a spine hammering porpoising that relegated it deep into the midfield to everyone’s surprise. Like a lady in designer attire running in high-heels, the W13 was beautifully slow.
By the end of the first quarter of the season, it was clear Sir Lewis Hamilton thought it was a beautiful dud that should be scraped. But Mercedes soldiered on with trying to understand and tame the source of the flaw(s). And finally they understood how to resolve it. Albeit, too late into the season. For the first time since 2014, Mercedes only won one race in a 24 races season. And in a hybrid era they had dominated with such invincibility unlike ever seen since the Schumacher era.
So what can we expect from the 7 times constructors world champions in 2023. Would they ditch the slender sidepod and lower the leading edges in front of the sidepod entrance? Would the rake of the car be altered to resemble the Redbull ride profile? Whatever the case might be, it would be surprising if the W13 architecture is retained for the W14. We all expect Redbull to have learnt a great deal from their 2022 car, hence we expect them to make another step forward. Similarly, Mercedes have learnt a great deal about why the W13 failed to deliver the desired ground effect. Hence one might hazard a guess to say that the W14 might be redesigned from the ground up. Bring all the good features of the W13, but with noticeable changes to the architecture of the aerodynamic profile of the chassis.
We wait in anticipation to see if Mercedes can recover the unbeatable gap to the Redbull cars; that Redbull would also be extending in 2023. That is to say, Mercedes must produce over a second on the performance of the car that raced the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Can it be done? If any team can manufacture such a feat, the Petronas-Mercedes F1 team is such a team. The converse would see Verstappen win his third and possibly his fourth driver championship. Which would make him a favourite in the under thirty crop of F1 drivers, with the potential to reach the Schumacher-Hamilton mark of seven titles. With such a young age, who knows? He may also set a new benchmark.
