(Motorsport) In the last decade or so, few teams have enjoyed as much unrivalled dominance in Formula 1 as compared to Mercedes. The Silver Arrows have won eight consecutive Constructors Championship titles and have truly stamped their authority during the V6 turbo-hybrid era. However, the 2022 season has been far from ideal for the German manufacturers with the cars lacking in both pace and reliability, severely affecting their title aspirations and are evidently a long way off as compared to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.

With Formula 1 heading into the Australian Grand Prix in a few days, Toto Wolff will be undoubtedly concerned by the various problems affecting the W13 and how they can be fixed in the fastest time frame. One of the most obvious and biggest issue with the car is a phenomenon called 'porpoising', which means that the car violently bounces up and down at high speeds, which inevitably means that the car needs to be a little higher than it currently is, therefore allowing the air to travel underneath but the sacrifice is speed in order to avoid the issue. 

Both the drivers have insisted that the car needs more downforce and power as well as expressing slight concerns about the engine despite the obvious potential of the car. It’s telling just how bad the car is if the seven time World Champion failed to progress past Q1 in qualification in Jeddah and started the race in 16th place. He may have managed to get a point at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, but Hamilton’s body language said it all and the 37 year old looked extremely disillusioned by the situation.

It’s believed that Mercedes are planning “phased upgrades” with the first one coming during the upcoming weekend but it’s expected not to be a quick fix and solve all the problems with the W13. As things stand, Mercedes is where Ferrari have been in the last few years, a car that is best of the rest but not good enough to compete for the title. However, underestimating Mercedes to turn their season around would be foolish and there is enough expertise and experience amongst the drivers and the car developers to not just fix the ongoing issues but unlock the potential of the car in order to compete for race wins and pole positions yet again.

Also read: Ferrari boss Binotto confident in team’s ability to compete for WC