Mercedes weren’t only held back by their sidepods, says technical director James Allison, who continues work on next year’s W15.
Whilst Max Verstappen claimed his first of 19 victories this year in Bahrain, plenty of F1 news outlets were focused on Mercedes. The German outfit failed to produce a car capable of challenging for wins, starting 2023 many steps behind Red Bull.
What rubbed salt in the wounds, however, was the team’s continuation of their unique sidepods. When F1 started with this new generation of cars, Mercedes took the most aggressive approach with their side pods.
After taking a victory in 2022 – courtesy of George Russell in Brazil – Toto Wolff’s personnel made the decision to pursue this “zeropod” approach. Even before the start of pre-season testing, there were concerns about the consequences of the decision.
By the end of round 1, Mercedes realised and accepted their blunder. James Allison was swiftly brought back as technical director to overturn the situation.
Mercedes’ 2024 approach
However, when explaining the team’s approach for 2024, the Mercedes TD offered a different perspective on development:
“I don’t see the world as you see it – who look at the side and decide it’s a concept with our car. We certainly took a path that, from the tip of the nose to the tail, was not competitive,” he told Sky F1.
“What caught the eye obviously were the sides, but it was certainly not a decisive factor.
“The concept was wrong from start to finish, and the sidepods are perhaps the emblem of a team that took too long to understand which side they were on.
“But they are absolutely not the element that sealed our destiny.”
As Allison identifies, the failure at Mercedes went well beyond their sidepods. The Brackley-based team introduced more conventional sidepods this year, but it didn’t completely reverse their fortunes.
The Silver Arrows will need to address several areas for 2024. As mentioned by Allison, there are other areas of the car – which aren’t always visible – that pay the same price.
At COTA, the importance of floor height proved instrumental in the performance across the board. To contest for a World Championship again, next year’s Mercedes challenger must excel in all areas. This is how Red Bull could maintain their supremacy across several circuits.
Next year’s pre-season tests will provide the first indications of the team’s winter progress. Several large-scale changes to the car (which could have had a substantial impact) have been delayed until 2024.
This is largely due to restrictions from the budget cap.
