The German team has had a frustrating start to the season in 2022, with a W13 far from the expected performance due to its high porpoising . Although they have developed improvements to curb this effect, the weekend in Monaco has shown that this car is still not where it should be.
Team boss Toto Wolff said that although the car is showing some positives, they think they are far from the sweet spot to be on the same pace as the leaders.
“I think we are the third team,” said the Austrian. “We are not second or fourth, we have two very strong drivers, but it is a big annoyance for us that the difference [with the best and the rest] is more or less the same.
“If you look at it optimistically, it’s five tenths, and if you look at it pessimistically, it’s more than eight tenths, and that’s unacceptable for Mercedes,” he added. “I think we are learning on every track, literally every kilometer is an important lesson on how we can improve the car, to be honest.
“We just have to escape being in no man’s land, which is where we are right now,” Wolff said.
Mercedes had cast doubt on their stripped-down sidepod W13 concept in recent weeks, but the level of form they displayed in Spain seems to have put an end to this debate for the foreseeable future.
The team’s chief executive said the focus now is on extracting the full potential they believe they have in the car, but reckons there will come a point where they will have to make big decisions going into 2023 if things don’t improve.
Asked by Motorsport.com if the Silver Arrows were committed to their design until next year, Wolff said: “If you want to change concepts, you have to understand what is going to make a new one faster than the current one, and if I think if it had been like that, we would have done it.”
“At the moment, we still believe in structure and organization and try to bring development and understanding to increase the pace of the car,” said the Austrian.
“I think we have to keep working, and then if there are decisions to be made for next season that cannot be changed on the current car, whether it’s architecture or aerodynamics, then yes, these decisions will happen, but we’re not there yet. at that point,” said Brackley’s team boss.
