Mercedes abandons 'zeropods' and comes to Monaco with new sidepods

This weekend the Monaco Grand Prix is on the programme. The latest pictures from the pit lane in Monaco show that Mercedes has brought an upgrade to the city-state. These show the German formation is abandoning its innovative 'zeropod' design.

Mercedes had already announced upgrades before the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. These included a new floor, new sidepods and a new front suspension. However, the Italian Grand Prix was cancelled and therefore the introduction of the new parts shifted to the Monaco GP.

New sidepods Mercedes

The first pictures of the new parts on the W14 have already appeared. These show that Mercedes has binned the innovative 'zeropod' design. The air intake of the sidepod now sits higher and below it is an 'air tunnel', which is also included on, for example, the RB19. In 2022, Mercedes' innovative design amazed everyone, but unfortunately for Mercedes, it did not seem to work as well as thought.

In 2023, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's team stuck to the design, but after disappointing performance, Mercedes is taking a different direction after all, starting from Monaco that is. Team boss Toto Wolff tempered expectations of the upgrade, stating that it will not be a "silver bullet".

Check out the first photo of the new sidepods on this tweet.

Primeras imagenes de la evolución de Mercedes en los pontones. Entrada más ancha y redondeada para tener túnel debajo.

First pictures of new Mercedes upgrade. Widder and rounded sidepod inlet with tunnel under the sidepod. #f1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/YSaLL09xxC

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) May 24, 2023