Mercedes’ 2024 F1 car won’t be as rushed as last year

Mercedes made a surprise call to continue with its ‘zeropod’ sidepod design and overall car concept first conceived in 2022’s recalcitrant W13 at the start of F1’s new ground-effect era, with the team mistakenly believing it could be made into a Red Bull challenger following Russell’s win ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. 

But Mercedes swiftly moved to abandon that approach once the W14 was revealed…