After a troublesome season with their below-par W13 car, Mercedes would be hoping for the season to end quickly. The Brackley-based outfit was completely caught out by the new regulations. They failed to catch up to their rivals all season. It’s been one of the worst seasons in the Silver Arrows’ recent history and both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are without a win this season.

However, Mercedes have welcomed the punishment slapped on Red Bull by the FIA. The Milton-Keynes-based constructors were guilty of overspending and breaching the $145M cost cap in 2021. As a result, they were fined $7M and a reduction on aerodynamic testing.

Toto Wolff has argued that Red Bull’s punishment gives Mercedes a slight advantage over the league leaders this year. While some teams argued that the penalty was lenient, Toto believes it’s a chance for the Silver Arrows to catch up with their rivals.

Toto said, “I think any reduction in wind tunnel time is going to cost you some performance. We’ve been in the fortunate situation that we won the championship [2021 Constructors’], so for 18 months, we had 7% less than Red Bull every half year.”

He further added, “So we are, unfortunately, benefiting from being third, with 14% more on the leaders, and then we have another 10%. That is quite a bit, but it needs to be well utilised.”

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However, Lewis Hamilton and co. would look to end this season on a high before thinking of the next one. After a string of decent performances, Mercedes will be looking towards their star driver to pull out a rabbit from the hat and win a GP this year.

Lewis Hamilton explains the difficulties with his W13 this year

It’s been a tough season for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, to say the least. The Silver Arrows are not known for their mistakes. However, the 7-time champion has endured a terrible car and faced multiple issues like drag and porpoising. The boy from Stevenage reviews the problems with W13.

Hamilton said, “Bouncing was the dominant one and the most visible. But the aero characteristics are difficult… the stiffness of the car to the point where the suspension is pretty useless, stiffer than the tyres.”

He further added, “Drag is a huge problem for us. When we get to a certain speed that’s when other people are pulling away. It’s when you brake and the front dips and the rear comes up and the aero transfers during that period and when you get on the power.”

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Mercedes’ best finish in the initial 11 races of the season was third place. However, they have slowly improved over the course of the season. Moreover, they looked like challenging Red Bull for the first time all season in the previous two races. Lewis and George Russell will hope for the same in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

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Despite an underwhelming year, Mercedes would look to improve and come back fighting next year. The data gathered from their drivers this year will help them to rectify their mistakes and challenge their rivals. Can Lewis Hamilton and the Silver Arrows challenge Max Verstappen for the title in 2023?