Russell ready to sacrifice part of F1 2023 for long-term Mercedes progress

Mercedes was looking to make a big step with its new W14, which unlike its predecessor is no longer crippled by porpoising, but Bahrain’s season opener soon established that the gap to Red Bull has increased again.

And with Aston Martin, which has closely followed Red Bull’s design philosophy, also proving quicker than Mercedes, it raised questions over the German squad’s decision to stick with its unique car design.

On Saturday night team principal Wolff admitted…