F1 News: Mercedes Admits No More "Big Moves" In Disappointing Update

With a huge upgrade in Monaco, Mercedes now faces limitations from the cost cap as they look to improve the W14 further.

The Mercedes F1 team, home to drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, has been caught up in an uneasy situation so far this season. Both drivers have aired their lack of confidence in the W14's rear-end stability, which was mainly attributed to the forward-shifted cockpit position. Unfortunately for the British drivers, this is something that only a brand-new chassis next year can fix, and thanks to the sport's cost cap, there won't be any more "big moves" to improve this.

In an attempt to counter this, Mercedes decided to pull a major card from their deck - an updated front suspension. This upgrade was part of their 'B-spec' upgrade which came to fruition in Monaco. But while there was a visual change to the car, we didn't see an improvement in performance until the Spanish Grand Prix. 

Why the new suspension, you ask? Well, this change isn't just about improved airflow and stability, it's much more important. According to Mercedes' Engineering Director, Andrew Shovlin, the suspension adjustment also offers a higher performance ceiling.

“It is important to play with the geometry and change the airflow, with which we can try to get more stability in the car. It also immediately gives us more freedom.

"The problem we always knew before was to have both a good front at the apex and stability when braking and turning in. We could never find the balance between those elements.

"We always had either a weak rear on the turn in or a weak rear in the middle of the corner. Hopefully we have found the right direction with the updates.”

Unfortunately, Mercedes is playing the game with some constraints. With no new chassis on the horizon due to the budget cap, the Brackley squad has had to make do with the original W14 chassis. Shovlin admits that the suspension, particularly at the rear, will be a primary focus going into 2024.

“Basically, we built a new suspension this year. Suspensions are expensive to develop. With the budget cap we always look at the situation in the championship.

"We don't know how much we can still do, but I don't expect us to make any big moves. What we do realise is that we can start many more development projects from here.

"Those programs have been put into effect.”

Every team on the grid will be analysing their development under the cost cap, but with Mercedes needing to move so many degrees to the right of their initial concept, it's an expensive project to muster in one season. Because of this, Shovlin and his team are creating an upgrade program that makes the most of the car's current form. 

“The biggest challenge will always be how to bring the aerodynamics and the dynamics of the car together and optimise them further. We need to see where there are still opportunities and how to bring them together with the car so that it becomes one big whole.”