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Mercedes technical chief Mike Elliott recently shared how he was not a huge fan of the new regulations that came into effect from the 2022 F1 season. The FIA made some of the biggest technical changes to promote closer racing. However, several teams, including Mercedes, struggled to incorporate these changes into their cars.
Speaking to Autosport, Elliott explained how the new rules have brought cars closer in the corners but not on the straights, saying:
“Personally, whether it’s because we’ve not had the greatest car, I’ve not been a huge fan of them. If you look at what they were intended to do with improving overtaking, they’ve definitely allowed the cars to get closer in the corners. But I’m not sure that we’ve not then lost out on the straights in terms of the wake and the drag reduction you get as a result of it. So, it doesn’t feel to me like we’ve seen significantly closer racing, we’ve just seen a different set of rules to work with.”
He further added:
“We’d have to have something very different to what we’ve got at the moment. But there are definitely technologies out there that could give you cars that could follow closely in the corners and still give you a drag benefit down the straights.”
The Mercedes tech chief also spoke about the new power unit regulations from 2026. He mentioned how teams will need a very different chassis to work with the new power units. Hence, he hopes that these future changes will further allow cars to race closely. Elliott said:
“But Formula 1 and the FIA are working towards what will be the 2026 regulations and, if you look at what’s already been released for the power unit for 2026, we’re going to need very different chassis regulations to go with them. Hopefully, we’ll end up with something that’s a good step in that direction.”
Mercedes team boss will keep 'realistic' expectations for 2023 F1 season
In the 2022 F1 season, Mercedes struggled to keep up with the front-running teams. They were only able to win one race in the entire season and somehow finished third in the constructors' championship. Hence, team principal Toto Wolff is keeping realistic expectations for the 2023 F1 season.
He told Sky Sports that he is well aware of how difficult it is to fight Red Bull and Ferrari for the world championship. Though he and his team are determined to work hard, they will not be expecting anything extraordinary. Wolff said:
"We have no doubt, when you are starting behind by half a second, it's going to be difficult to catch up to great organisations like Red Bull and Ferrari. Having said that, we are super determined in doing just that, but we need to set our expectations at a realistic level."
He added:
"We have no doubt, when you are starting behind by half a second, it's going to be difficult to catch up to great organisations like Red Bull and Ferrari. Having said that, we are super determined in doing just that, but we need to set our expectations at a realistic level."
Despite Mercedes' realistic expectations, there is a small chance that they could be the front-running team once again. Red Bull is currently struggling to work on its cars after being handed a hefty penalty by the FIA. Ferrari, on the other hand, will gradually get accustomed to its new team principal, Frederic Vasseur, and might still have some strategic mishaps as in 2022.
