F1: Mercedes focuses on reducing W14 chassis weight and engine reliability

The challenge of trying to increase the performance of last year’s car while also trying to resolve the Mercedes W13’s problems during the season was met by both the Brackley and Brixworth projects. In particular, the development during the year led to a one-two at the Grand Prix of Sao Paulo. Progress throughout 2022 gives Mercedes technical director Mike confidence
Elliott, on what the team will face next season.
“Last year, once we understood what we needed to do, it took a huge amount of work to move forward,” Elliott said at the unveiling of Mercedes’ new car. “At the end of the season you could see that the performance had improved and the winter break was like a restart. We did all that
which we wanted to do at W13 last year but were unable to due to resource constraints or because we were focused elsewhere on addressing other issues.”
Areas targeted include reducing overall weight, giving drivers a car with more stable balance and better aerodynamics. All this resulted in a lighter frame, revised front suspension geometry, modifications to the cooling system and a more refined aerodynamic philosophy based on the lessons learned from last year. “With this generation of cars, performance is all in the details. When you look at the W14, you see the DNA of the W13, but also a lot of evolution and refinement in the details,” added Elliott.
With engines ‘frozen’ by regulations until 2025, the focus of the Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains factory in Brixworth has shifted to two key areas, responsible reliability and software guarantees.
“It’s the busiest time of the year,” said Hywel Thomas, director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. “We have the final performance software freeze of this regulatory cycle before the start of the season, so we’ve had a lot of work to do. Recently we are finding better performance through the way the engine is used, which means more software updates. Knowing that it is the last chance for growth has pushed us to push as hard as we can.
The challenges presented by W13 were not limited to the chassis. The effect of porpoising on the motiz unit was a concern and reliability fixes have been applied. “By the end of the season, the engines were destroyed,” Hywel continued. “We looked at the design changes in the chassis, along with those in the engine, and worked as a team. The biggest changes to the drivetrain this year are in reliability to make it more robust in case the car keeps hitting the tarmac.”