Mercedes issue glowing review of W14 upgrades: “From here we seek performance”
The developed parts which first appeared a week ago in Monaco have received their first proper run at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, and have left team principal Toto Wolff beaming.
That is despite Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s collision - which dampened a bright performance in Barcelona.
“I think it's solid,” Wolff said about the upgraded W14.
“I think we should have been right behind Max Verstappen. This is what we have seen after FP3 where we felt we had something in the bag.
“That's why the disappointment is big - because we expected more.”
But to have disappointment at not achieving more is a major step forwards for Mercedes, whose W14 was wretched at the start of 2023, continuing the legacy of the W13 which Hamilton failed to win a single race in last season.
“I think it is a new baseline,” Wolff said about the latest version of this year’s car.
“It is from where we can continue to work with a certain stability. And without needing to question certain parts of the car - whether it's the bodywork, the floor, or the front suspension.
“It is now established and this is what we are taking forward now.
“I'm of the belief that this car is now a solid baseline.
“There's no more talk about changing the regulations, raising the floor edges.
“The bouncing is a non-existent topic anymore. That did happen in qualifying, but we know which direction we should have gone.
“It is from here now we can seek performance, downforce, and all that. But obviously with the caveat that you can get it very wrong with the tyres.
“That's why you see these massive swings between team-mates, and swings in performance depending on the ambient and track conditions.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
