One of the key storylines that is going to become a staple of every Formula 1 fan watching this season is the resurgence of Mercedes. After eight dominating seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport, since the turbo-hybrid era of the sport began, the Goliaths fell in 2022 as the regulations reset. But as it was reported, the team hadn’t lost its mojo, nor had they forgotten how to win. Hence, in the off-season, the word around the paddock was that 2023 was going to be the comeback year for the Silver Arrows. Team principal Toto Wolff would’ve thought this too. But the season opener in Bahrain was a cruel eye-opener.

In the very first race of the 2023 season, the F1 circus traveled to the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain. The expectations were surely high for the Silver Arrows to show their ‘true’ pace and challenge Red Bull. Be that as it may, the challenge fell pale as Max Verstappen stormed to yet another dominant victory and the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only muster a P5 and P7 finish, respectively.

After the race, however, Wolff rather than regrouping the team went on a rant dismissing the team’s developmental direction. “I don’t think this package is going to be competitive eventually,” said Wolff of the current ‘zero-pod’ philosophy as quoted by Motorsportweek.com. This has caught flak from a former Red Bull driver.

“I think it was brutal. This car has only been alive for six days, a few days of testing, three days here. I don’t know where he’s coming from with that,” proclaimed 11x Grand Prix winner, David Coulthard. But he at least seemed to agree with the conclusion the Austrian had come to.

“But yeah, they’ve got a completely different strategy with the sidepods. They clearly have to try and follow the pack now. But that is like a big kick in the whatnots for design team.”

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Wolff and Mercedes had earlier pledged to stay loyal to the W13 lineage. But things are about to change at Brackley as the crisis bells ring.

Lewis Hamilton reveals damning reality as Toto Wolff’s biggest fear comes true

If you thought 2022 was going to be the worst Mercedes could face, then you’ve got to think again. Just one race into the 2023 season and the title aspirations for Lewis Hamilton have already crumbled down. However, he’s got bigger things to worry about.

Post-race, Hamilton told Formula1.com, “We’re the fourth fastest team now, as opposed to the third last year. We’re going backwards, [so] we really have a lot of work to do to close that gap.”

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Is the 2023 season a foregone conclusion? Or can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes regroup and mount a title fight after all?