With two races in 2024 Mercedes doesn’t realize it yet, but the W15 has problems and is looking at itself. Reinforcements arrive from Ferrari
The life of a Mercedista is hard. She’s creating a new world for herself and it doesn’t seem to be that exciting. An inadequacy of the regulations introduced in 2022, with victories increasingly distant, and this year the news arrived that Lewis Hamilton will leave the team at the end of the year to go to Ferrari…
The hope of 2024 lay in the W15. After all, this project would mean the effective return of James Allison to the technical command of the team. After the bet on the “zeropods” and the step back in the W14B from Monaco, weaker winds seemed to be blowing in Brackley.
And when it was presented, the W15 appeared conventional, but breaking with the line the team had been working on for the last two seasons. The technical team led by James Allison decided to be humble and look at what others had done. We talk about this car in detail here, saying that it could be a good approach for a team that was at least 1 year behind the others in terms of car concept.
Russell and Hamilton’s reception was positive in the short pre-season, stating that it signified an improvement over the W14. Toto Wolff said that the car had “development potential” and that he “still had at least half a second to get”. Even so, the performance wasn’t that impressive.
After two races, the sirens went back on in Mercedes. Especially considering the performance in Saudi Arabia. Although the drag problem had apparently been solved, allowing the use of smaller wings and gaining top speed, the W15 performed poorly in high-speed corners.
At this moment Toto Wolff used a term that makes many people’s hair stand on end: correlation.
Normally, when a team uses the term “correlation” to the general public it is because the car has a problem. Basically it is the data obtained on the track with that obtained at the factory. The goal is for both to be as similar as possible.
And this is a case that has haunted Mercedes since the introduction of this new regulation. In 2022, when the team invented the infamous W13 and zeropods, the concept was said to bring a huge performance gain, which did not materialize. One of the culprits was the calibration of the factory simulators.
When W14 appeared with its 2.0 version of the zeropods and also incorporated some things from the competition, it was expected that things had been fixed. Far from it and we saw the internal struggle come to the surface, with Hamilton publicly complaining that he had not been listened to and once again the blame was placed on the simulators.
Although Mercedes still follows the policy of not discrediting the W15, this would be the third car under the regulations that simply doesn’t work. As James Allison himself once said in one of the many videos released after the race, there is an exact point at which the car must reach a height above the ground (as close as possible) in order to generate maximum aerodynamic pressure. This is where not only the chassis itself, but also the suspension comes into play. After all, they are responsible for keeping the car more stable relative to the ground.
What we have seen is that today’s Mercedes tries to bring the car very low, hitting the ground and wasting time with the effect of oscillating too much (called “bouncing”). And what seemed solved with the W14B came back forcefully with the W15.
There’s no denying that the team tried. The W15 represented a very radical change from what was being done. The investment in a new gearbox to improve aerodynamics at the rear and the reorganization of the car’s structure to increase the predictability of behavior were actions that demonstrate that Mercedes has made a strong adjustment in direction. Because this car will be the basis of the 2025 project.
The question now is to try to understand the car before introducing new parts, which should happen in Imola. After all, the data that Mercedes has obtained says that this car would be capable of being at least half a second faster. But so far this time is not enough and is giving work to Hamilton and Russell.
Reinforcements to save the future
But the team does not stop and a news brought by Motorsport this Wednesday states that Mercedes would bring two former members of Ferrari: Simone Resta (who was the team’s technical director between 2014 and 2018 and from 2019 to 2021) and Enrico Sampo .
In addition to signifying a resumption of action by Mercedes in recent times, which has seen a crowd of professionals, it would be an attitude aimed at solving the very problem that is gripping the team: simulations: it is not new that Mercedes has data different from the ones you get on the track and in the factory and you have to work hard to fix it.
The Ferrari duo was behind the design and assembly of the Ferrari simulator, currently one of the most modern in world motor sport. Sampo worked directly on this project and was directly responsible for managing the simulations within the team. The arrival of both at Mercedes will only take place in 2025, but it will help precisely when the new technical rules are implemented…
But for now, the Mercedistas can only hope that the W15 can show its potential and bring the team back to winning ways, something they haven’t seen since Sao Paulo 2022… If we have to look back, we have to rub our hands. , as the Ferrari players who arrived at Mercedes brought excellent liquids to the team and ensured much of the dominance between 2014 and 2020.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
