Magazine: How Mercedes is resolving its F1 malaise, a BTCC guru signs off

It’s easy to be clever in hindsight, but it’s not hard to believe that Lewis Hamilton really did have his doubts about the 2023 F1 season from the moment he first saw the new Mercedes W14.

Following your own design concept is commendable – and can be beneficial as well as provide some variety on the grid. But it is already clear that Mercedes should have changed its design path last year or over the winter, rather than find itself with a lot of work to do in the middle of a record-breakingly long F1 season.

Alex Kalinauckas investigates the situation at Mercedes and what it is planning to do to recover in our big feature. He also takes a look at the state of Ferrari heading into this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, a venue that has been pretty kind to the red cars in recent years. Can either team challenge Max Verstappen or even Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin?

Formula E’s first visit to Brazil proved far less predictable. Stefan Mackley was in Sao Paulo last weekend to see Jaguar’s Mitch Evans win a dramatic race, while Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein managed a fine comeback to extend his points lead as the season approaches half-distance.

Elsewhere in the issue, Marcus Simmons hears from one of the key architects of the British Touring Car Championship’s success and James Newbold talks to perhaps the busiest professional racing driver in the world in 2023.

The UK racing is now getting fully under way and our 16-page National section brings you all the latest news and reports. We also look at the history of the returning Autosport 3 Hours at Snetterton, the rise of the innovative 7 Race Series and compare the booming British GT Championship with the halcyon Super Touring days of the BTCC.

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