Just like last year, Mercedes is struggling to get a win this season as well. It is mainly because their car is not up to the level of Red Bull. On the other hand, their rivals are dominating the grid like they used to do a couple of years back. Mercedes enjoyed dominance due to being the fastest car they had for eight years. On the other Mercedes is currently facing their last year’s issue of porpoising.
Albeit, they thought this issue was not there anymore in W14 to be back in Spa, Belgium. But they are trying to figure out the perfect concept for the next year’s W15 car. Recently in an interview with Motorsport.com, George Russell mentioned that the team is looking at the old cars of the glory days as inspiration for the following year’s car.
George Russell Said Mercedes Is Trying To Take Inspiration From Their Old Cars To Build The Next Year’s Car
After all, the Mercedes cars of the past were surely the fastest of the turbo-hybrid era. Hence, it might give the engineers of the current era a new perspective on how to move forward with the next year’s car design. The Mercedes CTO Mike Elliot and also the 25-year-old driver George Russell believe they must change the setup of the car completely. Russell hopes the old car designs will give them some pointers regarding where to head with the new concept for W15 and future cars. He also mentioned that it is a shame that the current cars are still struggling with porpoising issues. Looking at the old car design may help them find a solution for the porpoising problem.
The W14 car was not as bad as W13 in terms of bouncing issues so far. But the car had many more problems, like the rear end was not right, and the drivers were not gaining pace in the low-speed corners. That’s why they introduced a few upgrades since the Monaco Grand Prix, for instance, new side pods, front and floor suspensions, along with a new front wing. Moreover, not having any side pods was a mistake, but the German team corrected their mistake far too late. It does not really seem the Brackley team has a chance to win the constructor title this year anymore.
2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Saw The Emergence Of A New Power
From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes won the constructor title. Nobody came close to them. Moreover, the constant factor in those years was Lewis Hamilton. The great Briton won six titles for the German team in those years. In 2016, Nico Rosberg defeated his teammate Hamilton to win the Driver’s World Championship. But Mercedes was unbeatable in those years.
However, things started to fall apart since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Max Verstappen of Red Bull defeated Lewis Hamilton, who was on his way to winning his eighth driver’s championship narrowly. It was a pretty controversial race, but the change of the dominant power was apparent. It turned out to be true as Max Verstappen dominated the next season, winning 15 races. Moreover, he is on his way to breaking his own record as he has won 10 already with 10 more to go.
