Mercedes finished the season with only one win in the W13, as the W13 proved to be the most difficult car to win in the German constructor’s history.
With Wolff recently suggesting that issues with the W13 were discovered beginning of October preceding year is to be concluded that Mercedes are working on the 2023 car for a couple of months on the car of 2023.
Mercedes have proven previously that they are capable of pulling some tricks from their bag, with their vehicle coming for the 2022 season without sidepods compared to their rivals. With teams set to announce their lineups for the forthcoming season in the next few months, Wolff has hinted that the car could be unique this year.
“It’s full of surprises,” Wolff said to media, including PlanetF1.com. “The last time I saw it I thought ‘oh this looks the same [as the W13]’ but here’s hoping it’s not the same.”
With the significant modification in regulations to be made for the season 2022, it is probable for the W14 will have at the very least some aesthetic qualities similar to W13. W13 and Wolff admitted that although the W14’s successor may look similar, he’s been informed that it will be different beneath.
“I’m very much like you. I walk into the tunnel to see if it appears like the model of this year’s, however they tell me that it’s totally different under the hood.
“It’s about airflow, it’s about weight distribution It’s about Aero maps.
“Our vehicle was fundamentally altered in the middle of the year. We altered the design, but we didn’t notice any changes to the bodywork.”
Even if the two cars appear similar, Wolff will be hoping that there aren’t any of the bad habits of the W13 were transferred to the W13. Wolff said that identifying and fixing the issues of the W13 was as simple as peeling an onion.
“I think we have a much better understanding of what the problems were,” the mechanic explained. “We’ve been peeling off just one layer of onion, layers of revealing new issues and problems and I think we’ve reached the point where we know fairly well why the car isn’t functioning.
“The connection at the very the very least is present for some tracks, so it’s all about the finer details of how we can help the car perform aerodynamically. How can we improve the performance to make it better enjoyable?
“I think if we’re able to solve that over the winter, at least we can provide a stable platform to the drivers and we can develop it from there.”