Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott confirmed that the Brackley squad will introduce at some point an update for its W14, but the car's revised bodywork will not follow Red Bull's successful concept.
Mercedes elected to retain on its 2023 car the zero-sidepod profile it exploited last season on its troubled first new-generation design.
At the presentation of the team's new car at Silverstone, Toto Wolff said the innovative concept was not "fundamentally" the reason behind the car's porpoising chronic issues or its underperformance.
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Nevertheless, Wolff alluded to an upcoming design change in the sidepod area of its new W14.
"The sidepods will change – not soon, but we are looking at solutions," said the Austrian. In Bahrain last week, Elliott confirmed the team's intentions.
"There’s bodywork coming and it will look different," the Mercedes engineer told Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz.
"It won’t look like someone else’s [car], it will look like an evolution of ours. That’s on its way."
Elliott made clear that the new design would not represent a step in the direction of Red Bull's aggressive sidepod concept.
"That’s not in our current plans," he said.
On paper, after pre-season testing, Mercedes heads into next weekend's opening race of 2023 behind Red Bull and Ferrari. But Elliott remains confident that the Brackley squad can put itself in the mix with its rivals and fight for the title this year.
"In competition [terms], hopefully we’re back but I think we have to be humble, we have to remember we’ve got good competition," he said.
"If we made a step forward and got closer to the front, then we’re back in it. And if we can develop over the course of the season, then hopefully we can fight for the championship."
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