Clearly, Team Mercedes has been going through a really tough time these last few seasons. They are still not sure if they have all the data available to build a championship-winning car for the next season. The team mentioned that they are looking at the current season as a learning process so that they can build the best car possible. However, the W14 car has not shown much improvement in the last few races. It is not a very good sign for the Brackley team this season and for the next year’s preparation.
On the other hand, team Ferrari is improving significantly, and it can be a threat to Mercedes in second place. They introduced new upgrades like the new side pods along with front and floor suspensions. The Scuderia also added a new front wing to the car. And it brought little but no joy to the fans and the team as they failed to win a single race so far. Recently, Mercedes driver George Russell told the media that the engineering team should investigate why they are struggling around the lower downforce tracks.
George Russell Believes Something’s Wrong With Two Different Downforce Packages
Apparently, Russell feels that it is essential to figure out why there is a big delta between the higher and lower downforce packages of their team. The 25-year-old Mercedes driver mentioned that they always struggle at Spa, Austria, Baku, and Monza. Even if the Mercedes cars are running on medium/low downforce settings, they seem to struggle with pace. But he believes they are faster on the higher downforce.
George Russell so far had only one podium finish that came in Barcelona, Spain, this year. In the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes had a two-three finish, with Hamilton finishing at P2 and Russell at P3. It came after Mercedes introduced new upgrades in the Monaco Grand Prix. Finally, Russell says the Mercedes team must figure out the characteristic differences between the two different downforce packages. Mercedes must figure out what is making them more competitive between the two on the stopwatch. But Toto Wolff feels they have a few directions they can try despite the car being too unpredictable.
Should Mercedes Shift Their Focus To The Next Year Completely?
Many experts believe Principal Toto Wolff’s team should keep their focus on this year’s second-place finish. Hence, the team can get some consolation prize even if they fail to win a single race this season. Moreover, the Brackley team won just a single race last season. Surprisingly, it was George Russell who was making a debut for Mercedes in 2022 and won their only GP success that year in Sao Paolo, Brazil. But this year, Lewis Hamilton had the upper hand most of the time over his younger teammate.
Albeit, Russell finished at P5 in Monza, whereas Hamilton finished at P6. Currently, Hamilton is holding the fourth place in the standings, whereas Russell is in 7th place. They have not been able to match the pace of the Red Bull drivers. Even Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin is ahead of his old teammate Lewis Hamilton. Hence, these Mercedes drivers are struggling a lot because of the Brackley team of engineers failing to fix the issues with the car.
