Mercedes Has Plan B Car Waiting If Zero-Pod Design Fails This Season

Ted Kravitz gives an insight into the Mercedes W14.

According to Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz, Mercedes is said to have a backup in production for the 2023 F1 season, referred to as 'Plan B', as a contingency measure in case their unique concept fails to work.

Despite the challenges, Mercedes has so far maintained their bold 'zero sidepod' design on their W14 challenger.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has suggested that they may revise their unique sidepod design during the upcoming F1 season, indicating that they are considering alternative options.

Sky Sports' Kravitz claims that Mercedes is also developing a backup concept that is similar to the philosophy adopted by Red Bull and Ferrari, which could be put into action midway through the 2023 season. 

"They're giving their big idea one more go!" 1️⃣

Ted Kravitz looks at what's in store for Mercedes in 2023 📅 pic.twitter.com/KvBPahVvFW

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 21, 2023

He explained:

“They’re giving their big idea, that was a failure last year, one more go.

“But I believe they have a ‘Plan B’ in production, and if they need to, they can go to a ‘Plan B’, which is the Red Bull or Ferrari style of doing things, in the middle of the season.

“At the moment they’re saying, look, we think we’ve got a proper handle on what went wrong last year. We still believe that our way - unique in the pit lane of having very slim sideboards - is the way to go aerodynamically.

“And anyway, they say most of the downforce is generated by the floor, which you can’t see, but they’re saying don’t expect anything too soon.

“I think if they went away without three or four wins in a season, they’d be disappointed.”

When asked on why he thought Mercedes hadn't already addressed the problems, Kravitz responded:

“My reading of that was we’ve [Mercedes] have got more things coming online.

“We’ve got developments of the European season and we think they’re going to work, but maybe the figures are very wrong eventually.”

Following a challenging season in 2022, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have high hopes that the W14 car will provide them with the necessary competitive edge to contend for the F1 championship this year.