"It won't be a silver bullet”: Toto Wolff opens up about Mercedes upgrades with zero side pods 

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff mentioned that the new upgrades for the team won't be a 'silver bullet' they need to compete against rival Red Bull in 2023.

The German team will introduce their first major upgrades for the season, which include the much-awaited new sidepods, at the Monaco GP this weekend. The former world champions are currently P3 in the constructor's championship. They will hope that new upgrades will get them closer to challenging for podiums and race wins once again.

Speaking about the new upgrades, Wolff said, as per Sky Sports:

"It is a unique event but will still provide an opportunity to learn about the upgrades to W14 - but we also need to be careful not to draw too many conclusions from this one event. We are introducing the first step in a new development direction."

He continued:

"It won't be a silver bullet; from my experience, they do not exist in our sport. We hope that it gives the drivers a more stable and predictable platform. Then we can build on that in the weeks and months ahead. F1 is tough competition and a meritocracy. We are not where we want to be but there's no sense of entitlement. It's just about hard work to get us to the front."

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"Mercedes cannot simply copy the Red Bull mid-season because that would involve significant reengineering" - F1 pundit

Sky Sports pundit Craig Slater mentioned that Mercedes cannot follow Red Bull's model mid-season. He also claimed the new upgrades might be key in Lewis Hamilton's future with the team.

Slater said:

"If you are a Lewis Hamilton fan and are interested in him staying at Mercedes, interested in his prospects of winning an eighth world championship, then this fundamental change is going to be pivotal in deciding whether that happens."

He added:

"The key aspect relates to the sidepods. This was the car that famously had no sidepods, now it has sidepods that look more or less like the rest of the field. They are not as finely refined as the Red Bull sidepods and look a bit to me like the Williams or the Alpine."

Speaking about how it will take major upgrades for Mercedes to copy Red Bull, Slater added:

"Mercedes cannot simply copy the Red Bull mid-season because that would involve significant reengineering that would probably break the cost cap, it might not be feasible to do. Lewis, for example, wants his seating position changed but that won't happen this year, it will have to happen next year."

It will be interesting to see where the Silver Arrows end up after they completely understand the upgrades.