The design philosophy a Formula 1 team takes is the edict they must live by in the modern age of Grand Prix racing. R&D costs have gone up massively and with the current cost cap, revamping your car design can become a herculean task. Be that as it may, there is a reason why the pecking order hadn’t changed much in the turbo-hybrid era. But given the nascency of the newest regulations, there is still some room left to maneuver. And this is exactly what Mercedes will be counting on this time around in 2023 to give Lewis Hamilton a fighting chance for his 8th title.

At the beginning of the 2022 season, the Silver Arrows debuted their ‘zeropod’ design, which at the time seemed revolutionary. However, as the season progressed, massive underlying flaws of the car emerged as the team slumped to a 3rd placed finish in the Constructors’ championship and 7x champion Lewis Hamilton endured his first win-less season in Formula 1. Time and again the Brackley-based outfit has denied ‘the problem’ being their innovative sidepod design. However, things may have developed a bit differently back at the base this time around.

At their car launch in February, Mercedes showcased the W14, which interestingly donned the same sidepod philosophy they had fabricated in 2022. That being said, according to SkySports F1 journalist, Ted Kravitz, the team has imposed an ultimatum on the running of this spec of the car.

He told Sky, “They’re giving their big idea that was a failure last year one more go, but I believe they have a plan B in production. If they need to, they can go to a plan B, which is the Red Bull or Ferrari style of doing things, in the middle of the season.”

“That’s why we’re hearing from Mercedes… these rules are here for another few years yet so they’ve got to get it right at some point. At the moment they’re saying: ‘We think we’ve got a proper handle on what went wrong last year, we still believe our way of having very slim sidepods is the way to go aerodynamically’,” explained the Brit.

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Mercedes has already signaled their intent to fight back up the field. But win or lose, Mercedes runs the risk of losing their main man, Hamilton.

Despite potential 2023 glory, Lewis Hamilton may be running his last year in F1

The crossroads Mercedes find themselves in, only one of two things can happen. Either the W14 is good enough and Hamilton dethrones Max Verstappen to win the 2023 title. Or, the team realizes that there is a long way to past glories ahead of them. Irrespective, Hamilton can decide to hang up his racing helmet at the end of the season.

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According to RacingNews365.com, if Hamilton wins his 8th title, he would have achieved everything there is to achieve in the sport for him. “It would be a Nico Rosberg-esque moment, going out in a blaze of glory and meaning Hamilton would never lose the title again…” But on the flip side, if the Silver Arrows struggle again, Hamilton may lose his mojo completely.

“If the car is as uncompetitive as its predecessor, that’s not exactly an incentive for Hamilton to stick around, slogging it out for odd podiums while Verstappen romps away to another crown.”

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From a purist’s perspective, 2023 is going to be epic! But who do you have your money on to win in 2023?