Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff says the team would be willing to consider significant design changes to their car if it brought results.

 As the second test begins in Barcelona, a story already emerging is the apparent advantage Ferrari has, with some believing the German manufacturer may even be third in the pecking order behind Red Bull.

One area some believe the Scuderia has stolen a march is with the front wing with a radical interpretation of the new design for 2019 that tries to recreate the outwash effect by flattening the outer portion of each element to direct air around the front tyres.

In comparison, Mercedes' design is much more standard but Wolff doesn't think it is a gamechanger.

“You need to be open-minded,” he said to Motorsport.com. “We have always had a different design philosophy to many of the other teams.

“We have gone [for a] longer [wheelbase] than the other teams. We have never had rake in the car compared to some of the other teams. It is not because we believed our concept was superior in every angle, but we believe that the whole car power unit package was the best for us that way.

“Having said that, with new regulatory change, you need to be open-minded about what the others have done and if something functions better, every team at the moment will look at what the others have put on the car and try it themselves.”

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F1 has seen similar examples before like the double diffusers of 2009 and the blown exhaust concept around 2012, which became the must-have design on the grid.

There is one problem, however, with making that kind of change.

“These are things you don’t do from one day to another,” Wolff explained. “If you were to think to change the aerodynamic concept of the car, it is not a matter of days or weeks. It is a matter of months.”

Interestingly, however, Mercedes has already brought a raft of upgrades to the second test on Tuesday, with Auto Motor und Sport's Tobias Gruener noting a new front wing and nose, sidepods, floor and T-wing on the W10 to name just a few.

They can be seen in the slideshow at the top of this page.