Wolff confirms: 'New Mercedes has already reached minimum weight'

A disastrous season like 2022 is what Mercedes wants to avoid at all costs this year. That is why the car's DNA has changed, although there are still notable similarities. For instance, Mercedes is once again sticking to the idea of virtually missing sidepods.

Thanks to a new FIA rule, all teams must adjust (higher) their floors this year, which should make so-called porpoising a thing of the past. The biggest problem with last season's Mercedes was this bouncing. The striking concept without sidepods suffered a lot from the huge air resistance. Nevertheless, the team decided - as many other teams did - not to copy Red Bull Racing's concept. Incidentally, Wolff indicated that changes to the sidepods are yet to follow.

Lighter chassis

Red Bull ended up having the best car on the grid last year, although the car was a bit too heavy. As then, a car must weigh at least 798 kilos. During Mercedes' press conference - where GPblog were present  - team boss Toto Wolff revealed that his team had already reached that minimum weight with the new car. This is due to the introduction of a lighter chassis and the use of less paint. In many places where the car is black, there is no paint. Only on the front wing does there seem to be paint.

Mercedes showed the real car for this season during the presentation. Wolff said he learned from last year. Then Mercedes did not come up with the final concept during the first tests. Since then, the team was constantly behind the times. Although the sidepods are still being worked on, the car is otherwise already the way the season will start.