Mercedes has been through a lot of ups and downs since Lewis Hamilton lost to Max Verstappen in 2021. That marked the beginning of the rise of the Dutchman and redemption for Red Bull. The Austrian outfit used to dominate the grid from 2010 to 2013. But ever since the turbo-hybrid era started in 2014, the German team has been unstoppable. For eight years in a row, the Silver Arrows never lost the championship to any team. Even in 2021, it was the Brackley team that took the constructor title home. But the penultimate race of that season in Saudi Arabia was the last time Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the podium. After losing the epic battle in Abu Dhabi, the seven-time champion has remained winless coming to 2024.
It is because Mercedes failed to provide the great Briton with the right car. They don’t have the fastest car anymore. In fact, they are far from having the most superior car, which belongs to their rival, Red Bull, now. The Austrian outfit’s RB18 and RB19 were even more superior to the Mercedes cars back in their dominating era between 2014 and 2021. Moreover, the German team seems to just can’t figure out the problems with their car. Even after two to three years of struggle, James Allison and the team have a hard time understanding the car.
Why Is Mercedes Still Struggling In 2024?
According to Autosport, James Allison recently said in an interview that they are witnessing a pattern where the car’s performance is good at some moments of the weekend. Then, in the qualifying and in the race, the W15 car loses performance. Moreover, James Allison tried to draw the pattern that suggests W15 loses competitiveness when the track gets hotter. The Mercedes technical director mentioned the 2024 challenger is going through correlation issues and heat problems. It is a new trend as per the Technical director that the car drops competitiveness in warmer conditions.
But this trend gives the Mercedes team some clues about what to do next. Allison mentioned that in the Australian GP, Mercedes did not change the set-up from FP3 to qualifying. Moreover, the Mercedes technical director said at first they need to assess the competitiveness correctly, “Why it waxes and wanes?” Then, they can have a program planned for the weekend where they can try to move the temperature and its balance front to rear in their favor. Moreover, they will use all the conventional set-up tools on W15.
Things Are Looking Bad For Hamilton With W15
After the opening Grand Prix at Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton mentioned W15 has been easier to handle than its predecessor. However, the car has not delivered the expected step of performance. After the first three races of the 2024 season, the Silver Arrows have not yet scored higher than fifth. Lately, in Melbourne, Mercedes had a double DNF. As a result, the third-placed McLaren is now 29 points ahead of the German outfit. Circuits of Bahrain, Jeddah, and Melbourne are very different.
Failing miserably in all these three tracks this year displayed shocking issues for the Mercedes team. Anyway, they had already learned in Jeddah that W15 will struggle in high-speed corners where bouncing can cause problems a bit too much. And now, the technical director says warmer conditions are not good for the team’s competitiveness. Hence, more struggles await for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell this year.
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