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Mercedes doesn't want to start working on 2023 car yet: 'Doesn't make sense'

Mercedes doesn't want to start working on 2023 car yet: 'Doesn't make sense'

02-06-2022 13:26 Last update: 14:43
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GPblog.com

After years of dominance, it is now Mercedes that must chase Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. A position the German team has not been familiar with in recent years. The fact that the W13 cannot live up to the high expectations, for the time being, does not mean that the arrows are already set for 2023. Team boss Toto Wolff still wants to try and get everything out of the current car.

Still much to discover about current Mercedes

After eight constructors' titles in a row, it doesn't look like Mercedes can win a ninth title this season. The W13 of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell clearly falls short of Ferrari and Red Bull. After seven races, Mercedes is already 101 points behind Red Bull. However, the fact that their performance is currently disappointing does not mean that the reigning world champion is already ready to throw in the towel and start focusing on next season.

"If you want to change a concept, you have to understand what will make a new concept faster than the current one. I think if we knew that, we would have done it already," Wolff tells at NextGen-Auto.com. So as long as the team does not fully understand the current car, there is no point in starting the development of the W14, according to the Austrian.

More time in the wind tunnel

According to Wolff, starting this month the team has more time in the wind tunnel to make evolutions and understand the car better. "Everything that can't be changed on the current car has to be revised," Wolff let us know. If the gap with Red Bull and Ferrari cannot be closed by then, Wolff says the team will at some point start to make the decision to focus on next year. For now, at least, that is not on the agenda.