Mercedes has struggled with the car since last year. Due to the poor car, the team has lost its grip on the title. Even though they lost the Driver’s championship back in 2021, they ensured their eighth consecutive victory in the constructor title. But things have gone terribly wrong since last season. Mercedes faced tremendous bouncing problems in the car due to porpoising issues. As a result, the bouncing trouble ruined the season for the former constructor champions.
The Mercedes CTO, Mike Elliot, mentioned the team is eager to keep pushing in the current season. However, they have a different focus now, which is the next season. In the current season, they are trying to understand the W14 car better to build the perfect car next year. Recently, Mercedes disclosed that they have a better idea about the ride height of the W15 car.
Mike Elliot Feels The Team Has Found The Ride Height Sweet Spot For W15
Moreover, modern cars have basically a very complicated nature. These cars rely on the vortices that need harnessing underneath the floor. It means if the ride height goes through a massive change, then it might totally change the aero maps. It is not possible to happen mid-season. Moreover, Mercedes feels winter is the perfect time to address the issues of the ride height. It is because it will depend on how the looks will go with the new car. Mike Elliot believes the too-low run in 2022 and the too-high run in 2023 helped understand the ride height better for the 2024’s car.
Recently, speaking to Autosport, Mike Elliot mentioned that due to aero testing restrictions, they have limited test runs. Hence, Mercedes had to pick a direction and go for it. Adding to that, Elliot mentioned it is not easy to move anywhere if there are only three runs a week. But the aim is to cover all the bases and develop for the high or low ride makes it more difficult. Hence, Mercedes CTO feels picking a direction and tweaking that as they keep learning is the way to go. Moreover, he hopes that his team has got in the right direction.
Mercedes Would Not Like To Repeat Their Past Mistakes
Moreover, they managed to win a solitary victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. The Mercedes drivers had a one-two finish. In hindsight, it was a false hope for the team that they should have just forgotten about. On the contrary, Mercedes changed their plans to add new side pods. Moreover, they continued with the zero-side pod concept even at the beginning of the 2023 season. It really did not help their cause.
Mercedes was nowhere near their rival’s pace. Moreover, there were new threats for Mercedes in the form of Aston Martin and McLaren. At times Ferrari also proved to be a strong competitor for the Brackley team. Currently, Mercedes is fighting to hold on to second place. They can’t catch up with Red Bull this season because they have gone too far away from Mercedes’s reach. But they must find ways to beat Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, and all other competitors for second place.