Mercedes reportedly have a second car design waiting in the wings despite deciding to give their bold 'zeropod' design a second go this year.
The Silver Arrows – wearing black again this year – will be desperate for a strong season after a difficult time in 2022. So used to setting the benchmark over the last decade, Mercedes were off the pace of the front-runners with their W13 car unable to compete for regular victories.
Mercedes chiefs are of the opinion that their aerodynamic design featuring no sidepods – bucking the trend of the rest of the grid – was not the issue. So they have persisted with it for the W14, with some small changes made, of course.
But it appears that their faith in the 'zeropod' concept is not undying. According to Sky Sports pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz, Mercedes have also created another aero package which looks more like the one used by defending champion Red Bull in case they struggle again.
"They're giving their big idea, which was a failure last year, one more go. But I believe they have a 'plan B' in production," he said. "If they need to, they can go to a Plan B – which is the Red Bull or Ferrari-style of doing things – in the middle of the season."
Developing two different aero design concepts for the new season may come at a cost. Teams are only able to spend so much cash on their car development in this budget cap era of F1, so Mercedes will most likely have less to spend on developments as the season progresses.
It remains to be seen whether a chance of tactic will be needed. Mercedes denied rumours that their behind-closed-doors shakedown was disrupted by technical problems, but gremlins will be tougher to hide if they arise in pre-season testing this week.
Mercedes feel they understand what went wrong with their design of the W13, but also are not convinced its successor will come roaring out of the traps at the start of the new season. Kravitz added: "These rules are what they are for a few years yet, so they've got to get it right at some point.
"But at the moment they're saying 'look we think we've got a proper handle on what went wrong last year, we still think our way – which is unique in the pit lane, having very slim sidepods – is the way to go aerodynamically. Most of the downforce is generated by the floor, which you can't see, but they're saying 'don't expect anything too soon'."
