The German manufacturer has had a difficult start to the 2024 campaign, with its W15 showing flashes of speed but struggling for consistency across race weekends.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have faced a “knife’s edge” feeling at times as Mercedes has failed to find a setup that exploits the potential it believes is locked into the car.
While the team hopes that a package of aerodynamic improvements planned for the upcoming race in Miami will bring an overall improvement to its performance, the team is also planning other changes to its car in tandem over the course of upcoming grands prix.
Speaking during the team’s regular post-race video debrief, technical director James Allison revealed that the upcoming introduction of new parts is specifically aimed at improving the car’s handling.
“We have improvement packages coming for the car, but also components that we hope will rectify the underlying balance that is causing us difficulty,” he said, reflecting on another weekend of ups and downs at the Chinese GP.
“Even though it’s painful to talk this way after a weekend like this, I just have to remember that there will be races in the future when we have executed these things, when we are back more to the forefront and when we move forward, the pleasure of talking about it will be immense, and that day cannot come soon enough.
James Allison, technical director, Mercedes-AMG
Photo by: Erik Junius
Allison said that although the team delivered a well-executed race in China to take double points, the overall performance was far from the high standards he and Mercedes expected.
“We’ve had a car that’s kind of limited up front all year, especially in the low-speed corners, and that was really amped up to 11 this weekend,” he said .
“Once you have front tires that don’t want to go around the corner, it means drivers have to wait forever to get power back on exiting the corner, so you lose lap time.
“In extremis, to turn the car into a corner, they have to start it into the corner with the throttle to loosen the rear somewhat, which kills the rear tires and you end up overheating in the rear.” be limited to the front.
“It’s not at all a pleasure to be taken away from a weekend which, although competently executed and well driven by both guys, is not at all a pleasure when the material itself is not where it needs to be or should be.
“Of course the challenge we face in the upcoming races is to try to evolve both the settings of the car and also the parts that we put into the car so that it gets better.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Allison said that in Miami Mercedes also had to change its approach to mid-weekend setup changes, with both drivers making big changes from the China sprint to the main grand prix, which did not bring the the hoped-for progress.
“We definitely learned over this weekend that if you want to be ambitious, be ambitious in the sprint race and then adapt it to the main race rather than the other way around,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ll land a car in a better place, that the improvements we’ll make in Miami will serve us well in a grid that, at least in qualifying, is very tight.
“In this part of the battle we are fighting, a few hundredths can sometimes make the difference and a few tenths would make all the difference in the world. So I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.
Watch: Who are the key players in F1 Driver Market 2025
The German manufacturer has had a difficult start to the 2024 campaign, with its W15 showing flashes of speed but struggling for consistency across race weekends.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have faced a “knife’s edge” feeling at times as Mercedes has failed to find a setup that exploits the potential it believes is locked into the car.
While the team hopes that a package of aerodynamic improvements planned for the upcoming race in Miami will bring an overall improvement to its performance, the team is also planning other changes to its car in tandem over the course of upcoming grands prix.
Speaking during the team’s regular post-race video debrief, technical director James Allison revealed that the upcoming introduction of new parts is specifically aimed at improving the car’s handling.
“We have improvement packages coming for the car, but also components that we hope will rectify the underlying balance that is causing us difficulty,” he said, reflecting on another weekend of ups and downs at the Chinese GP.
“Even though it’s painful to talk this way after a weekend like this, I just have to remember that there will be races in the future when we have executed these things, when we are back more to the forefront and when we move forward, the pleasure of talking about it will be immense, and that day cannot come soon enough.
James Allison, technical director, Mercedes-AMG
Photo by: Erik Junius
Allison said that although the team delivered a well-executed race in China to take double points, the overall performance was far from the high standards he and Mercedes expected.
“We’ve had a car that’s kind of limited up front all year, especially in the low-speed corners, and that was really amped up to 11 this weekend,” he said .
“Once you have front tires that don’t want to go around the corner, it means drivers have to wait forever to get power back on exiting the corner, so you lose lap time.
“In extremis, to turn the car into a corner, they have to start it into the corner with the throttle to loosen the rear somewhat, which kills the rear tires and you end up overheating in the rear.” be limited to the front.
“It’s not at all a pleasure to be taken away from a weekend which, although competently executed and well driven by both guys, is not at all a pleasure when the material itself is not where it needs to be or should be.
“Of course the challenge we face in the upcoming races is to try to evolve both the settings of the car and also the parts that we put into the car so that it gets better.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Allison said that in Miami Mercedes also had to change its approach to mid-weekend setup changes, with both drivers making big changes from the China sprint to the main grand prix, which did not bring the the hoped-for progress.
“We definitely learned over this weekend that if you want to be ambitious, be ambitious in the sprint race and then adapt it to the main race rather than the other way around,” he said.
“Hopefully we’ll land a car in a better place, that the improvements we’ll make in Miami will serve us well in a grid that, at least in qualifying, is very tight.
“In this part of the battle we are fighting, a few hundredths can sometimes make the difference and a few tenths would make all the difference in the world. So I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.
Watch: Who are the key players in F1 Driver Market 2025