“It wouldn’t surprise me” - Mercedes touted to make massive overhauls after an underwhelming outing at Bahrain GP

It only took until the first qualifying day of the 2023 Formula 1 season for team principal Toto Wolff to say that the car concept Mercedes had retained for this year was most likely the wrong path to take and would need to be reassessed.

Mercedes F1 trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has stated that the team is considering "radical changes" to the troublesome W14. At the car's launch last month, team principal Toto Wolff stated that a redesigned sidepod design was already in the works, one that would move the car away from the 'size-zero' design carried over from last year's W13.

Following a disastrous performance in Bahrain, Wolff stated that the car's design was flawed, and Shovlin has confirmed that the team will have to look beyond adjustments to the sidepods.

In the team's post-Bahrain Grand Prix debrief, Andrew Shovlin said that adjustments that did offer prospective gains could be forthcoming, but agreed with Wolff that the degree of change that was actually required could be a much longer undertaking. He also hinted that the distinctive minimum sidepods might be replaced by a version more in line with the rest of the field.

During The Race F1 Podcast, Scott Mitchell-Malm, Edd Straw, and Mark Hughes discussed:

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see different sidepods on the car. But it would surprise me immensely if that turned out to be the ‘light switch’ moment.”

“They need to know what is driving the lack of performance. Just because the sidepod’s different, it doesn’t mean that therefore it’s the sidepod. It’s much more likely to be found in the interplay between the underfloor and the sidepods and the rear end of the car." Mark Huges said.

Mercedes were no closer to the front despite having solved porpoising and bouncing and having had a winter to incorporate their 2022 learnings into their new design.

"It’s clearly aerodynamic. Mechanically it’s the same as the Aston Martin at the back so it’s to do with the airflow coming over the front wing, through the front suspension, down the sidepods and under the floor. That’s a huge area and it’s not just, ‘let’s change the sidepods’."

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Mercedes Chief Mike Elliott 'given ultimatum' after an emergency meeting

Mercedes have handed their Chief Mike Elliott was given an ultimatum after Lewis Hamilton demanded action from the team after a very tough Bahrain Grand Prix.

They claim that on Wednesday (March 8), a meeting that lasted until "late at night" was held at the factory. It comes just days after Hamilton blamed Silver Arrows bosses for the car's failure.

The seven-time champion accused the team of not listening to him when it came to the new 2023 machine's direction. The British F1 legend also stated that he expected Mercedes to "own up" to its mistakes.