Mercedes might suffer from 2023's 'small but not insignificant' regulation change, predicts former F1 driver

Former F1 driver turned TV pundit Karun Chandhok claims Mercedes might suffer from 2023's 'small' regulation change that increases ride heights. The sport is set to change the parameters for outer floor edges, effectively increasing the ride height for all cars in 2023.

The German team had a dismal 2022 season but showed a late return to form by the end of the year. Having earned their only win of the year at the 2022 Brazilian GP, the Silver Arrows were far off their constructors' championship-winning form.

Starting in 2023, the FIA has increased the outer floor edges by 15 millimeters, with no more than 5mm vertical deflection. This is when a 250N load is applied in a downwards direction and no more than 5mm vertically when the 250N load is applied upwards.

Chandhok believes Mercedes might be caught out by this small regulation change next year. Historically, the German team has never been one to ride their cars very high.

The Indian driver told Sky Sports F1:

"There's a regulation change next year, which is small but not insignificant in terms of the ride heights. The cars have all got to run at a higher ride height. Which is the one team historically that hasn't run at a high ride height? The brain power that won all those World Championships is still there in Brackley and Brixworth. But I don't think it's as easy to fix yet as you might think."

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Mercedes will 100% recover from dismal 2022 season, claims Toto Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is certain his team will recover from their disappointing campaign in 2022. The Austrian exec is sure the Silver Arrows will not repeat the mistakes of the dominant teams before them.

Wolff expressed confidence in his team bouncing back in 2023. He revealed that Mercedes is spending a good amount of time understanding why dominant teams fall from the top steps of the sport. He told the media:

"We are analysing the seasons in the past for why teams that dominated over an era suddenly lost performance. You can trace it back pretty well; a change in the regulation, people leaving, a tyre that fundamentally changed. For us, the regulation changed - we got it wrong. But all the other pillars are still in place. I'm 100% sure that this was a difficult year that was necessary for us to re-energise the organisation."

Mercedes' 2022 challenger, the W13, was riddled with porpoising in the first half of the season. As a result, the team was unable to catch up to Red Bull and Ferrari, who dominated the rest of the field. The team did manage to make a late comeback, however, with George Russell taking the team's only win of the year at the 2022 Brazilian GP.

It will be interesting to see how the Brackley-based squad fares in 2023 with the latest FIA regulation changes.