Earlier this year after realizing that their current design philosophy wasn’t working, Ferrari revealed its development plans. In the larger scheme of things, the aim was to end up developing a car that was as identical to Red Bull as possible. Tired of continuous failure, Toto Wolff wasn’t against the idea of doing that with the W14 either. However, the Austrian boss has been warned against doing the same to avoid getting slapped with the same allegations that Red Bull suffered immensely against in the past.

Mercedes’ struggles started right from the beginning of the 2022 season. The ground-effect regulations came into play and it exposed some massive underlying weaknesses. Mercedes, for almost the entirety of the season, struggled with porpoising while Lewis Hamilton, for the first time in his F1 career went a full season without a race win. The 2023 season hasn’t gone any better either. Perhaps that is what prompted Wolff to demand a faster car from his team even if it ended up looking like their rivals.

Lewis Hamilton & Co. urged not to follow into Red Bull’s shoes

The Azerbaijan GP started after a hiatus of 4 weeks. Most teams took the break as an opportunity to field their first set of changes. Mercedes, however, waited to do that in Imola. However, owing to the devastating floods in the Emilia-Romagna region, F1 canceled the Grand Prix. The team is now planning on fielding those changes in Monaco. As pictures of the upgraded W14 did the rounds on the internet recently, many felt it looked a lot more similar to Red Bull’s RB19. Craig Slater does not think it’s a copy but also cautioned the Brackley team against going that way.

In his analysis for Sky Sports, Slater said, “Mercedes can’t just copy the Red Bull mid-season because that would entail significant re-engineering that would probably exceed the budget cap. That might not have been feasible to do. Lewis, for example, wants his sitting position to change, but that won’t happen this year, that will have to happen next year.” [Translated using Google]

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Hamilton had earlier complained about his sitting position being too far ahead. He believed that was the reason why he did not get enough feel of the rear of the car.

Mercedes side pods not as refined as Red Bull but aerodynamics touted to improve

The current upgrade package involves a revamp of the aerodynamics of the car, the floor, and the front suspension. The change of the side pod design is a part of that package. Slater feels side pod design still does not look as good as Red Bull’s, however, there was one area he feels they will do well with.

“They are not as refined as the Red Bull side pods and to me they look a bit like the Williams or the Alpine,” he continued. “The front suspension has also been revised and the floor of the car has also been changed. I saw the tunnel under the side floor which will improve aerodynamic performance.”

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Do you think Mercedes can now take the fight to Red Bull with the latest upgrades? Or does that still look like a far-fetched dream for the Brackley team?