F1 News: Mercedes' Significant Upgrades Revealed Ahead Of Belgian Grand Prix

Mercedes' new W14 upgrades have been revealed ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

As the Belgian Grand Prix approaches this weekend, Mercedes is rolling out their latest Formula 1 upgrades, including newly reshaped sidepods in an effort to decrease their gap to Red Bull. 

On Thursday, while the car was being assembled in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock garage, the updated sidepod inlet design was photographed and shared to social media. This major upgrade stems from a shift in Mercedes' sidepod strategy which was incorporated earlier this year as part of a substantial upgrade package unveiled in Monaco.

The sidepod's redesign includes a rounder air inlet and a more intense downwash. Additionally, a concave surface has been added to the lower part of the pod. This change is anticipated to amplify the outwash near the edge of the rear floor.

Along with these modifications, Mercedes has integrated a new low-downforce rear wing specifically designed for the Spa circuit.

The team had already confirmed that more upgrades were coming before the summer break, which starts after the Belgian Grand Prix, however, it was unclear until this point what those upgrades would be. 

F1 journalist Albert Fabrega has shared multiple photos to Twitter, confirming new sidepods and cooling inlets as well as a new rear wing. 

Más de los nuevos pontones de Mercedes

More from new Mercedes sidepods. #f1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/NboZuJ9ITO

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) July 27, 2023

This has led some fans to raise the question of the cost cap budget as these are not the first upgrades that the Brackley-based squad has brought to the W14. However, Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has been open explaining that they are not able to do all of the changes that they wanted due to the cost cap so we can assume they have not breached anything at the moment. 

Other fans questioned whether the team had also brought in a new suspension, although this has not been confirmed.

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend kicks off tomorrow with the first and only Free Practice session followed by Qualifying a few hours later.