Why Mercedes has got F1's current era so wrong so far

A thing to remember is that the zero-pod is an evolution of the lineage of cars from the previous era. The trend there was to shrink the bodywork as tight as possible.

Remember when Mercedes first unveiled their zero sidepod w13 and we all panicked about how Mercedes will dominate f1 again for the next 6 years?😂

When even williams has the budget to redesign their car away from your concept you know youve fucked up 😅

1 key element I am missing in why Mercedes has got it so wrong, is the impact of losing a lot of people to both AM and RBR and the effects of the cost cap.

That's why i'm so excited for the spanish gp, a test track and most top teams will have introduced their "b" spec cars by then, much to look forward to.

The Mercedes fans and social media admin hyping up the W13 and 14 got me creasing

Let's all take the time to appreciate that Mercedes did something that many teams thought was impossible. Adrian newye said that it's not just about the aerodynamics or chassis, the Mercedes concept requires the level of PU DEVELOPMENT that I have never seen before. (Referencing to the cooling)

Fall of another dynasty looks like, happened with Mclaren in the 80's, Williams in the 90's and Ferrari in the 2000's. Even Red Bull had a similar downfall after their success with Vettel so I consider it a natural cycle of the sport. The current Verstappen-RB will also have their own meltdown sooner or later like the Merc did. If would be fun seeing who'll challenge for wins later down the season.

Basically, if your F1 car does not look like the one that Adrian Newey designed, chances are you've got it wrong.

The cost cap killed Mercedes. They could have thrown another 100m to catch up last year without batting an eye lid. Now they cannot do that any more. The penalty for getting things wrong is much higher these days, especially for the better funded teams who used to be able to spend their way out of trouble.

This is a very well made and informed video documenting the topic, thanks for making it

End of the day a team is bound to get a regulation change wrong and as a result fall behind someone else, Mercedes is no different. What should be a question is how it took them a while to realize the problem and deciding to make significant changes only during early this year, which isn't something anyone likely expected coming from a top team like others who can introduce solutions to problems quickly. Now it feels like they got lured into a sense of calm in the later half of 2022 then reality brought them back in 2023.

It is like racing a car after enveloping a mask around the body work. It is a miracle they r still more competitive than most of the teams.

FIA took away the 2 massive advantages Mercedes has. - introduction of the budget cap - engine freeze Mercedes enjoyed a massive engine and spending advantage for nearly a decade. The engine, which is likely the primary reason for the dominance, is now nul and void. Car design is the new goal and under budget. Mercedes is not going to claw this back

I'm sure Merc will see decent gains from the new parts as they roll out but yeah, having to introduce them at Monaco... ouch. Not a weekend you want to spend struggling to retune your car setup.

I can't see Mercedes catching up Red Bull anytime before 2025.

Adrian Newey King of Aerodynamics. That's why Redbull is doing so well. It's not all about having a dominant engine anymore.

two floored cars, to be fair

Thank you for a brilliant video as always. This one especially shows the array of engineering complexities we F1 fans “understand”. If someone wants to get an idea of how much work goes into just one car for one season they should study and watch this video until it makes sense. 🧐

The fact that Aston Martin could be down near the back of the field one season, then semi switch to a red bull design and be up in 3rd place the next season really shows what team found the best path for these new regs.