Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says the first major upgrades to the W14 Formula 1 car won’t come before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May.
The Brackley-based squad has started the 2023 campaign on the back foot, as it did last year.
Following qualifying at the season-opening race in Bahrain, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes’ car concept that was introduced in 2022 and carried over to the current season wouldn’t bring out its return to the front of the grid.
The team has promised “visible changes” to the car going forward – but Wolff says they will not appear at the upcoming rounds in Baku and Miami.
“We’re doing good steps, good developments, but you’ve got to run them, confirm them, produce them,” he told Sky F1.
“So, I think we’re not looking for introduction before Imola. We want to do it right also.”
Mercedes dominated the first years of the turbo hybrid era but has failed to be competitive since new technical regulations were introduced last year.
Despite the gloom over its current form, Wolff is confident that the team is heading in the right direction.
“That’s going in a good direction,” said Wolff. “But we shouldn’t expect like a miracle: suddenly we are on pole by half a second.
“I think it’s more like consolidating our place between Ferrari, Aston Martin and us. That would be a good step.”
In Saudi Arabia, and again during Friday practice in Melbourne, Mercedes’ drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell expressed opposite opinions regarding their comfort level behind the wheel.
But Wolff says that the situation became more understandable after Bahrain and says the “path is clear” going forward.
“We had a bit of a moment where it became so much clearer after the Bahrain race. We were trying to make something work which we really weren’t unable to unlock,” he said.
“And then now, the path is clear and it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to take time, but we know where we’re heading to it.”
