Along with Aston Martin, Williams and Alpine, Mercedes were underwhelming to start the year. In the first 8 races of 2024, the Brackley team scored 71 points less than last season. This was bitterly disappointing for a W15 that was meant to address its predecessor’s weaknesses. Initially, the W15 proved even less competitive than its immediate rivals.
However, there is emerging hope that Mercedes is getting a better understanding of these regulations. This could be transformative for an F1, which could see four teams fighting at the very front.
MERCEDES: THE NEW FRONT WING IS A BIG STEP FORWARD
The start of the season was not what the Brackley team hoped for. They suffered from major correlation problems between the factory and the track, which generated unexpected bottoming and bouncing. It was also clear the W15 was struggling for balance. Thus began a long period of analysis to understand what was still wrong, and the first results have been visible on the track for a few races now.
“The Mercedes was, on average, the fastest car of the entire weekend”, said Lando Norris after the Canadian GP.
His team principal, Andrea Stella, echoed this sentiment: “Some of the lap times they set in Monaco and this weekend they were out of our reach.”
At Brackley they are certain that the new front wing introduced in Monaco with Russell, then seen on both cars in Canada, is a big step forward in solving the balance problems of the W15.
“The new wing has made the car easier to drive, more balanced, and perhaps the car has become more driver-friendly. Something we were struggling with at the start of the season,” Allison said.
The problem with the old specification was that finding a balance between low and high-speed corners was practically impossible.
Prioritising the high speed-corners led to understeer in the low-speed. Meanwhile, optimising low-speed corners generated oversteers at high-speed corners. This is because the innovative Launch Spec front wing behaved very differently from what the factory gauges showed.
“To improve, we could change the mechanical balance, which helps you combat the inherent tendency to understeer at low speeds and oversteer at high speeds. But the more extreme you make it, the more complicated the car becomes and seems to the driver,” James Allison explained in Canada.
Brackley are confident in their path, but Barcelona will be a crucial test
The question everyone is asking is this: was Canada just a one-off GP for Mercedes, or did the W15 really make up all the ground against the three leading teams? Toto Wolff did not want to say too much:
“It’s important not to get carried away by enthusiasm because F1 is a difficult sport, but we have a positive trajectory from the last three races, and everything seems to make much more sense between the factory and the track. The rest will be told by the stopwatch. ”
Even in the factory, there is a positive feeling the team is finally on the right path. This is thanks to a combination of conservative and more aggressive changes.
However, there is also a certain awareness that Canada is not a completely true image of the competitiveness of the W15, although, comparing China to Canada, which saw conditions not too dissimilar except for the quite different layout, Mercedes recovered half a second on McLaren and Ferrari.
“The changes we’ve made are making this car better, but the Montreal characteristics make it feel a little faster than it is,” said James Allison.
Mercedes will debut a modified surface in Barcelona. This will include adjustments to the front wing and front corners, which now generate less downwash and more upwash. Thus, the Silver Arrows work to further optimise the ride height of the W15.
The Spanish GP is a very important test for the Anglo-German team because. The Barcelona circuit has all the characteristics that put Hamilton and Russell‘s car when the year began. These features include high temperatures and the need to compromise between low and high speed.
In short, Spain will demand almost the opposite of the Canadian GP weekend.
“In Barcelona, I expect us to still be competitive but not as competitive as in Canada,” commented Allison. The Technical Director of the Championship-winning team is quietly confident.
