Mercedes reveals much‑changed car for 2024 F1 season

There are some pretty striking changes on this new car, namely a rework of the sidepods which now conform much more with the rest of the grid and step completely away from the failed ‘no sidepod’ concept that caused so many issues for the team. The majority of work has been centred on improving aerodynamic efficiency, as Technical Director James Allison explains: “The design of any car is an iterative process. And a long one at that.

“A big focus has been on improving the previous car’s unpredictable rear axle. We have worked hard to ensure that both axles, but particularly the rear axle, retain better control of the tyre than on the W14. There’s also been some housekeeping on areas in which we had room for improvement, including the DRS effect, and pit stop performance.”

The team have suffered two difficult seasons since the new regulations were introduced in 2022, with progress difficult to come by, but there is a general air of confidence about the Mercedes team as we head towards the new season. Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff said: “We know we have a mountain to climb to fight at the very front. There are no miracles in this sport.

“But our ambition and determination are strong. Since charting this new course, development has progressed well. We had several items on our priority list for this car. We will soon see if we’ve made the step we’ve aimed for.”

Allison added: “We feel like we have had a good winter, but F1 is a relative game and only time will tell how big a step we’ve made. We’re focused on getting the most from the car we launch, but we are excited by the development race that will follow as the regulations are still young and opportunities abound.”

Lewis Hamilton embarks on his final season with Mercedes before he makes the move to Ferrari in 2025. Commenting on the new W15, he said: “The learnings of the past two years have helped us find our direction. It’s enabled us to find our north star. It’s still going to be a work in progress, but we will face whatever challenges present themselves with our heads up, with open minds, and work through diligently.

“If you’re not comfortable with the car, you’re not able to extract the maximum performance. A more stable, more predictable car will enable us to extract the potential from not only the car, but ourselves as drivers.”

“We made progress with some of the nastier characteristics of the W14 throughout last year,” added George Russell, “But we still had a narrow operating window and, once we were outside of that, the car was difficult to drive. If we can continue to widen the operating window of the car, that will provide confidence for us as drivers and from there, lap time is easier to find.”

The Mercedes W15 takes to the track for the first time at Silverstone for an inital shakedown before heading to Bahrain for pre-season testing from 21^st-23^rd February. The first race of the 2024 F1 season gets underway a week later on Saturday 2^nd March.