Mercedes rolls out key car revisions

● Team hoping for a big boost in Monaco to revitalise season HIGH HOPES

FORMULA One returns to Monaco this week after heavy flooding in northern Italy led to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola being cancelled. The big news heading into the iconic street circuit event is Mercedes’ planned roll-out of longawaited upgrades to its W14 car.

Back at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed changes to the car were planned for the Emilia Romagna race. Now Monaco will see the debut of Mercedes’ revisions, although there may be limits to the benefits of introducing them at Monte Carlo’s uniquely tight and twisty track. The alterations to the Mercedes car are significant, and we expect to see new bodywork, a fresh floor and a revised front suspension. The ‘zero sidepods’ Mercedes has been using until this point will make way for more conventional units.

The team has had a dismal start to the 2023 season by its lofty standards, having finished in the podium places just once and sitting 128 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. It will be interesting to see if the latest upgrades will herald an improvement in performance, although it’s hard to see Mercedes providing a car in which Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can challenge for the drivers’ championship from this point in the season.

Red Bull, on the other hand, look almost unbeatable at the front of the grid. Two-time world champion Max Verstappen is 14 points ahead of his team-mate Sergio Perez, who in turn is 30 points clear of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Perez has shown his ability on tighter tracks, gaining a reputation as a streetcircuit specialist. Last year the Mexican won at Monaco, despite qualifying behind both Ferrari drivers in third spot.

Monaco is famously difficult for overtaking manoeuvres, so whoever starts at the front has a huge advantage. With the qualifying pace of the Red Bulls, it’s difficult to see any other result than a one-two, but their finishing order should be interesting to see.

Charles Leclerc will have the hopes of his home nation resting on him as he bids to become the first Monegasque driver to win at Monaco since Louis Chiron in 1931. The

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff (above left) is hoping upgrades to the W14 car will let his team put pressure on Red Bull and Aston Martin at Monaco, where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (above right) will be aiming to win on home soil 25-year-old Ferrari driver has shown pace in qualifying, but race performance for both Ferraris has been disappointing this season.

Someone who knows what it takes to win at Monaco is Alonso. He claimed back-toback victories in 2006 and 2007, and the Spanish veteran has certainly started 2023 brightly in a competitive Aston Martin. If either of the Red Bulls runs into trouble, the two-time world champion looks the most likely to capitalise.

“Mercedes has had a dismal start to the 2023 season, with the team sitting 128 points behind Red Bull”