The bigger answer Mercedes needs from its now delayed F1 upgrades

OPINION: Mercedes has had to delay its upgrade package to its W14 Formula challenger to the Monaco Grand Prix, after this weekend's Imola round was cancelled due to a weather emergency in the Emilia-Romagna region. This will only build anticipation for an upgrade package that will reveal genuine steps forward or far more deep-rooted issues

The cancellation of the Imola weekend means that the debut of Mercedes’ much-awaited Formula 1 upgrades is now delayed until the Monaco Grand Prix. It has resulted in another week of waiting and anticipating just what impact the changes will make to the so far troublesome W14.

But while hopes will be that, even around the streets of Monte Carlo, the revamp can show an immediate lift in performance, of much bigger importance to the team is the answer that will be delivered about its ultimate long-term potential.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.