The German manufacturer is coming off a tough campaign where it struggled to get the upper hand in the new rules era, losing to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.
His new W13 car struggled with porpoising early on and, despite making good progress during the year that saw George Russell lead a Mercedes 1-2 in Brazil, still finished the campaign with a performance deficit up front as Mercedes fell to third in the constructors’ championship.
But while the team says the year delivered valuable lessons in helping them understand how best to approach the new ground effect regulations, they don’t claim they fully understand everything that’s going on. went badly this year.
When asked if the team has full control over the car, meaning next year’s W14 will have banished all weaknesses, Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles said in the videos. team post-race updates: “I don’t think you can really now, or even through the winter, say that we know everything about the W13.
MORE: Can Mercedes break Formula 1’s doom cycle?
“There were ups and downs, absolutely, and that’s the part of what I meant by this car that has things in it that we think we understand and some of them that still don’t fully explained because of this.
“But if you look at the direction to go, the deviations from the front, especially on the race pace, we have made huge progress and you only do that by understanding where your problems are, by working on it and working as a team.”
Mercedes seems ready to change the concept of its car for next season.
The W13 is believed to have suffered greatly as its peak performance could only be produced by riding very low to the ground, which then exposed it to porpoises and worse rebounds.
The change in approach could pay off, but Mercedes are still aware that there remained a big performance gap in Abu Dhabi last weekend between it and Red Bull, which Lewis Hamilton said summed up the team’s struggles. year.
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“The confidence we have is that we now have our tools, our wind tunnel tools, our development tools, our performance tools here in the organization producing better performance than our competitors, and that allows us ahead of them,” Vowles said.
“There is still a void and Abu Dhabi has really shown that. It has to be caught up throughout the winter and I think we have a very good process and system in place to do that.
“This development that you have seen throughout the season will continue through the winter and I think we will be in a very good position next year.”
Vowles believes the Mercedes team ends the year stronger as an organization, due to its need to come together to fix its mistakes.
“We’re a team used to success, used to winning, used to being up front and we weren’t,” he said. “And it really changed the organization for the positive.
“We’re much better off of it and it’s the characters that built and we built as a result of that.
“It’s been difficult, there’s no doubt about it. We weren’t in a position that we were used to and you have to make sure that as a result you adapt going forward – and we have that. do.
“I think we’ve proven from the start of the season compared to the end how far we’ve come.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
He added: “This team had to come closer than ever. It’s very easy in these circumstances, in these difficult times to part ways and we didn’t.
“The drivers have pulled themselves together, and I’m convinced we have the best driver line-up on the grid. We have two incredible drivers who push each other but work as a team to improve the car.
“We have a team both at Brixworth and Brackley and on the track all working together with one goal in mind and that’s not necessarily winning anymore. It’s to make sure we understand the package we have, so that we get back to our victories next year.”
The German manufacturer is coming off a tough campaign where it struggled to get the upper hand in the new rules era, losing to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.
His new W13 car struggled with porpoising early on and, despite making good progress during the year that saw George Russell lead a Mercedes 1-2 in Brazil, still finished the campaign with a performance deficit up front as Mercedes fell to third in the constructors’ championship.
But while the team says the year delivered valuable lessons in helping them understand how best to approach the new ground effect regulations, they don’t claim they fully understand everything that’s going on. went badly this year.
When asked if the team has full control over the car, meaning next year’s W14 will have banished all weaknesses, Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles said in the videos. team post-race updates: “I don’t think you can really now, or even through the winter, say that we know everything about the W13.
MORE: Can Mercedes break Formula 1’s doom cycle?
“There were ups and downs, absolutely, and that’s the part of what I meant by this car that has things in it that we think we understand and some of them that still don’t fully explained because of this.
“But if you look at the direction to go, the deviations from the front, especially on the race pace, we have made huge progress and you only do that by understanding where your problems are, by working on it and working as a team.”
Mercedes seems ready to change the concept of its car for next season.
The W13 is believed to have suffered greatly as its peak performance could only be produced by riding very low to the ground, which then exposed it to porpoises and worse rebounds.
The change in approach could pay off, but Mercedes are still aware that there remained a big performance gap in Abu Dhabi last weekend between it and Red Bull, which Lewis Hamilton said summed up the team’s struggles. year.
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“The confidence we have is that we now have our tools, our wind tunnel tools, our development tools, our performance tools here in the organization producing better performance than our competitors, and that allows us ahead of them,” Vowles said.
“There is still a void and Abu Dhabi has really shown that. It has to be caught up throughout the winter and I think we have a very good process and system in place to do that.
“This development that you have seen throughout the season will continue through the winter and I think we will be in a very good position next year.”
Vowles believes the Mercedes team ends the year stronger as an organization, due to its need to come together to fix its mistakes.
“We’re a team used to success, used to winning, used to being up front and we weren’t,” he said. “And it really changed the organization for the positive.
“We’re much better off of it and it’s the characters that built and we built as a result of that.
“It’s been difficult, there’s no doubt about it. We weren’t in a position that we were used to and you have to make sure that as a result you adapt going forward – and we have that. do.
“I think we’ve proven from the start of the season compared to the end how far we’ve come.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
He added: “This team had to come closer than ever. It’s very easy in these circumstances, in these difficult times to part ways and we didn’t.
“The drivers have pulled themselves together, and I’m convinced we have the best driver line-up on the grid. We have two incredible drivers who push each other but work as a team to improve the car.
“We have a team both at Brixworth and Brackley and on the track all working together with one goal in mind and that’s not necessarily winning anymore. It’s to make sure we understand the package we have, so that we get back to our victories next year.”