The 2024 season is at a crucial stage, with top-four teams in contention for the Constructors’ championship. However, the season started as one-way traffic, with Red Bull ahead of everyone. Recent upgrades and strategies have strengthened McLaren and Mercedes to challenge RBR consistently. While McLaren consistently troubles the defending champions, the Silver Arrows are not much behind.
However, what has surprised every F1 fan is the German Marqeu’s sudden upsurge. While it feels like a drastic change, it results from persistent hard work by the entire crew. Mercedes’ trackside engineer, Andrew Shovlin, dissected the team’s recent resurgence and explained the factors contributing to their success.
How Mercedes And Lewis Hamilton Weaved A Phenomenal Comeback Story?
During the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin elaborated on the improvements made by the team and how they have positively impacted the performance of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Shovlin noted that Hamilton found the car challenging to handle earlier in the season. A significant area of improvement has been the ability to land the setup in FP1, providing a solid foundation for building performance and fine-tuning throughout the weekend. In the early races, minor changes often disrupted the car’s balance, causing significant struggles. Hamilton particularly found it more challenging to set up the vehicle than Russell.
A crucial factor in the drivers’ mutual improvement has been their collaboration. Hamilton and Russell shared insights and experimented with different setups and driving techniques. This cooperation helped both drivers find a driving style that suited the tyres and brought their setups closer together, allowing the same configurations to work well for both.
Throughout the year, the drivers studied each other’s techniques between sessions to identify potential gains. They worked together early on, motivated by a mutual desire to improve their standings. By experimenting with various setups and driving styles, they progressed as a team, demonstrating the importance of teamwork in achieving better results.
Mercedes Chief Remains Cautious As 2024 F1 Season Reaches A Crucial Juncture
Mercedes has won three of the previous four races, including two for Lewis Hamilton, reigniting prospects of a title push. Toto Wolff, team principal, is wary. Speaking to the media in Spa last weekend, Wolff highlighted the importance of pragmatism, notwithstanding recent triumphs.” We need to keep both feet on the ground,” Wolff said. He welcomed their strong performance trend but cautioned against making early predictions regarding the second half of the season.
On the other hand, Red Bull’s early supremacy, headed by Max Verstappen, has been challenged by quick progress from competitors, most notably McLaren and Mercedes. McLaren has significantly reduced the distance to the championship leaders to only 42 points. Wolff is well aware of the gravity of the impending fights. He mentioned the intense battle, with four teams, including Mercedes, giving their best. While cautiously confident, Wolff emphasized the significance of showing their talents in the remaining ten races of the season.