How conclusive was the debut of the much-anticipated Mercedes Formula 1 upgrade package? Not especially so – but then that was always likely to be the case given its first appearance came at the Monaco Grand Prix.
What its debut did do, though, was give us a clear indication of the direction Mercedes has staked its long-term hopes of once again becoming a title challenger on.
Its pace wasn’t dramatically different from what we’ve been used to so far in the 2023 F1 season, but Monaco did allow Mercedes to get started with a package that was visually dramatically different – not least because it represented the first deviation from the zero-sidepod concept used since the start of this rules era.
Our latest video takes a closer look at the changes and the rationale behind what team principal Toto Wolff has described as “a fundamental shift in the design direction”.
