“It’ll be different”: Mercedes tease unique sidepod upgrade 

Mercedes are reportedly set to change their sidepod design over the course of the 2023 F1 season. The Silver Arrows notoriously stuck with their 'zero-pod' design from last year, which turned heads in the F1 community.

Their technical director Mike Elliott claims that sidepod upgrades are inbound, which will hopefully make the team a lot more competitive in the near future.

Mercedes finished 10th and 11th in the first practice session of the 2023 Bahrain GP and were seen running a newer wing compared to that in pre-season testing last weekend.

Elliott claims that while their sidepod upgrade will be new, it will not copy any of the other teams on the grid. Many teams decided to follow Red Bull's sidepod design last year due to its incredible success on the track.

Elliot said:

"Toto [Wolff, Team Principal, has] already said we’ve got a different bodywork coming; it won't be the same as other people’s and it won’t be the same as we’ve got, it’ll be different. It’s part of the normal development. We have got a very different sidepod coming – I say very different, a different sidepod that’s coming. I think Toto said that in the press.

"But it takes time to bring that. It takes time to make the bits, it takes time to change the bits that go underneath the bodywork to fit, so we’ll bring it as soon as we can."

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Red Bull better than Mercedes in all aspects, claims Toto Wolff

According to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, Red Bull appear to have the upper hand over his team based on pre-season testing results. Wolff asserts that the RB19 has the ability to brake later while entering corners and accelerate earlier while exiting them.

During pre-season testing in Bahrain, the Silver Arrows fell behind Red Bull in terms of performance. Nonetheless, they have made significant progress compared to the previous year, where their vehicle suffered from porpoising issues from the beginning.

In contrast, Red Bull have successfully executed the 2022 aerodynamic regulations and have further developed their already robust foundation this season.

The Austrian team appears to be the top contender again for the 2023 season. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez recorded exceptionally fast lap times throughout the pre-season testing weekend and on the first day of the 2023 Bahrain GP.

Speaking about Mercedes' disadvantages compared to Red Bull so far, Wolff said:

"They brake later, are slower on corner entry anyway, accelerate much earlier and gain a huge amount of time with the better traction. If we approach the corners like that, we miss the apex completely."