Mercedes had an odd start to the new technical regulations of 2022. With an unusual car concept, they felt they will be having a rocket ship of a car. Though, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Lewis Hamilton struggled badly with the porpoising of the W13 car. It was almost a haunted encounter for the Briton as Mercedes were miles behind the ultimate pace. Because they turned a corner to gain performance over the season, the team is adamant to retain this car concept.

The Chief Technology Officer of Mercedes F1, Mike Elliott expressed his thoughts on the Mercedes W13 concept. In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Elliott refused to accept the blunder of the car concept as no one other than Mercedes chose this route. He stated, “Not really [surprised, that only Mercedes chose this concept]. We were surprised that no one else found this loophole.” [translated via Google]

Mike certainly was happy that no one went this route which made the Mercedes car concept on the grid. After all, the German team must have looked at the risk-return trade-off with this zero-pod concept. Elliott further added, “Once you’ve gone this route, it’s very hard to copy anything else.”

So, it seems like the Brackley team is quite confident about making their unusual concept work in 2023. Given they already dealt with the risks and downside of the design, it is time for them to encash the performance returns.

Moving ahead into the new season, Hamilton would dearly hope that this concept works. Still, nothing is given as it is a calculated risk by Mercedes to retain the zero-pod design, after their good late-season progress last year.

Mercedes to Continue With Head-Turning W13 Innovation in 2023 Despite Major Question Mark

The Silver Arrows seem confident to turn the tables in the new year with their W14 challenger. With the car launch scheduled on February 15, 2023; all eyes will be on how they evolve from last year’s mistakes. Nevertheless, February is shaping up well with all teams set for their car launches.

Spotlight on Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari amid 2023 Car Launch Season

Mercedes has scheduled their car launch just a day after Ferrari unveil their 2023 challenger on February 14. It is going to be an eventful few weeks in February with back-to-back car launches.

Meanwhile, Red Bull is taking it quite early to do a season launch on February 3rd. Even in 2022, they unveiled a standard car, that showed their livery without many car innovations. Thus, it may be more of the same from the Milton Keynes team with the RB19 too. Usually, Red Bull keeps the main car features hidden until Pre-season testing.

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On the contrary, Ferrari did a full showing of their 2022 challenger F1-75. So, we may expect the Scuderia to reveal their Scarlet challenger for 2023 in full glory on February 14. Although, the Silver Arrows are sort of similar to Red Bull. They may not unveil every detail of the W14 a day after Ferrari’s launch.

Besides the top 3, McLaren and Aston Martin have got their car launches on February 13. While, Alpine reveal the A523, 3 days later on February 16. Red Bull’s sister team is doing a livery launch in New York City on February 11. So, we may expect their actual car to show up in Bahrain for the pre-season testing.

Similar to Alpha Tauri, Williams may also be doing a livery reveal on the 6th of February. Only Haas and Alfa Romeo are pending to confirm their car launch dates, as things stand.

WATCH THIS STORY: Williams’s Top 5 F1 Liveries of All time

While, Mercedes may also keep its key features hidden until testing; they would want to make noise with their performance, unlike last year. Or else, Red Bull and Ferrari make the honors, leaving the Silver Arrows struggling with the car concept. Do you think the Brackley team can turn the tables this season?