The 2023 Silver Arrow will be a real revolution of the unsuccessful 2022 project. However, the changes will be mainly invisible to the outside observer, being concentrated in the bottomfrom the shape of the venturi channel to the diffuser, and in the internal mechanics of the suspension. In fact, the main problem of the W13 arose from an excessively low ground clearance, which generated problems of aerodynamic instability, triggering porpoising and giving rise to other problems. The technical department led by Mike Elliott thus concentrated on the underbody of the W14 to generate maximum load without running into the critical issues of last season again, while the superior aerodynamics of the new single-seater shouldn’t differ much from its progenitor.
However, that doesn’t imply that the 2023 Mercedes will be without bodywork tweaks. The Brackley single-seater should maintain the tapered-bellied concept, intended to isolate the car body as much as possible from external turbulence. A counter-current approach to that pursued by the rest of the teams, which instead resort to a wider bodywork to exploit the same surfaces as a shield against the turbulence generated by the front wheels. But there could be some new features in the rear area of the bonnet and sidesas reported by Paolo Filisetti on the pages of RacingNews365. The rear bodywork should be slightly wider, forming a T-section with the dual-purpose gearbox. In addition to an aerodynamic optimization of the flows through the rear suspension and the beam wing, Mercedes would like to design a wider car body to stiffen the bottom, a requirement which in addition to being purely performance-based, as excessive bending triggers problems of aerodynamic instability and porpoising, also arises from regulatory reasons. In fact, in 2023 the FIA will adopt more stringent tests to control the deformation of the bottom, the maximum flexion of which will not be more than 5 mm under a force equivalent to 25 kg per side, but 8 mm but under a load comparable to 60 kg per side.
As for the front of the sides, however, the same shapes of the W13 could be re-proposed with vertical air intakes. In this case, the presence of the central wing, i.e. the anti-intrusion cone detached from the belly and faired with surfaces for aerodynamic purposes to divert the flow downwards, would appear almost obvious. However, the engineer Filisetti does not exclude a slightly different configuration, with horizontal and oblong air intakes, with wider bellies in the upper part and with the lateral cone integrated inside in Red Bull style.
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