After winning eight consecutive constructors’ championships, Mercedes endured a difficult first year under the revised technical regulations in 2022, initially struggling to challenge top teams Red Bull and Ferrari.
Porpoising proved to be one of Mercedes’ biggest weaknesses at the start of the year, hampering the form of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, before further problems emerged once the rebound was resolved.
MORE: Why Mercedes thinks it can take the step F1 needs to stop Red Bull
Although Mercedes was able to develop the W13 and ultimately claim its first win of the year at the penultimate race in Brazil thanks to Russell, the team finished the season third in the standings.
Hamilton said in Abu Dhabi he was looking forward to the last time he had to drive the car, but Wolff noted the W13’s potential future significance, although it didn’t offer fond memories until 2022. .
“I think this car will always have a special place in our collection – a long way back,” Wolff said.
“But I think hopefully the next few years will do it justice, because the learning curve with this car was huge.
“Our fundamental understanding of aerodynamics, the correlation of vehicle dynamics, has really changed stages, gone through a learning stage.
“And it won’t be forgotten as a car that dominated the Brazilian Grand Prix either!”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Michael Potts / Motorsport Images
Mercedes managed to take a big step forward in performance at the end of the season, helped by a development package that arrived for the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The team initially thought they had made a breakthrough in Spain, when they appeared to have their porpoising problem under control, but other issues emerged which led to a change in approach to the car’s DNA for next year. .
“I think we understand a lot better what the issues were,” Wolff said.
“We peeled layer of onion after layer of onion, uncovering more problems and more problems. But I think we’ve gotten to a point where we understand quite well why the car is not performing.
“As I said before, the correlation is there for some tracks. So it’s all down to the finer details of how we can make the car work aerodynamically, how can we improve the ride and make it more stable. as a basis.
“It’s multiple factors that contribute to a car that’s just not good enough, and I think if we’re able to sort that out over the winter, at least we can provide a stable platform for the drivers. we can develop it from there.” .”
After winning eight consecutive constructors’ championships, Mercedes endured a difficult first year under the revised technical regulations in 2022, initially struggling to challenge top teams Red Bull and Ferrari.
Porpoising proved to be one of Mercedes’ biggest weaknesses at the start of the year, hampering the form of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, before further problems emerged once the rebound was resolved.
MORE: Why Mercedes thinks it can take the step F1 needs to stop Red Bull
Although Mercedes was able to develop the W13 and ultimately claim its first win of the year at the penultimate race in Brazil thanks to Russell, the team finished the season third in the standings.
Hamilton said in Abu Dhabi he was looking forward to the last time he had to drive the car, but Wolff noted the W13’s potential future significance, although it didn’t offer fond memories until 2022. .
“I think this car will always have a special place in our collection – a long way back,” Wolff said.
“But I think hopefully the next few years will do it justice, because the learning curve with this car was huge.
“Our fundamental understanding of aerodynamics, the correlation of vehicle dynamics, has really changed stages, gone through a learning stage.
“And it won’t be forgotten as a car that dominated the Brazilian Grand Prix either!”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Michael Potts / Motorsport Images
Mercedes managed to take a big step forward in performance at the end of the season, helped by a development package that arrived for the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The team initially thought they had made a breakthrough in Spain, when they appeared to have their porpoising problem under control, but other issues emerged which led to a change in approach to the car’s DNA for next year. .
“I think we understand a lot better what the issues were,” Wolff said.
“We peeled layer of onion after layer of onion, uncovering more problems and more problems. But I think we’ve gotten to a point where we understand quite well why the car is not performing.
“As I said before, the correlation is there for some tracks. So it’s all down to the finer details of how we can make the car work aerodynamically, how can we improve the ride and make it more stable. as a basis.
“It’s multiple factors that contribute to a car that’s just not good enough, and I think if we’re able to sort that out over the winter, at least we can provide a stable platform for the drivers. we can develop it from there.” .”