Team Mercedes is struggling to hold on to second place in the constructor championship this year. They may not win the title, but they have everything to fight for second place. Although Aston Martin, Ferrari, and McLaren are closing the gap gradually and keeping Mercedes on their toes. Apparently, a second-place finish can also bring a lot of valuable prize money. Hence, the team is not looking to give up just yet. However, they have a new mission they are focusing on.
That’s the 2024’s W15 car. The Brackley-based team is trying to learn everything they can about the car to fix the issues they have been facing since last year. Mercedes is keen to get back to winning ways. But before that, they have to address the problems they are facing. Moreover, the W14 car has problems with its balance, rear-end downforce, new side pods, and so on. Apparently, McLaren copied the exact side pods of Red Bull and got better results. Hence, the Silver Arrows must learn how to improve the side pods they added in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Mercedes Will Keep Pushing W14 Despite Focusing On The 2024 Season
From the race in Monte Carlo, Principal Toto Wolff‘s team introduced new front and floor suspensions along with new side pods. Later in Silverstone, the Brackley team added a new front wing to increase pace around the slow-speed corners. These upgrades helped the car to gain more speed but not a win yet. Moreover, F1 teams are facing financial limitations since the cost cap rules and regulations. But Wolff’s team could adopt a radical approach with limited resources. However, it does not seem like they are going in that direction. Despite the German team primarily focusing on 2024, they are not going to stop pushing the W14 car with more developments.
The Mercedes CTO, Mike Elliot, said in an interview that they have two reasons for continuing their work on the W14 car. They can keep learning new things about the car and have to fight for second place in the manufacturer’s title race. Moreover, when teams try to adopt a radical approach, it is not easy to maintain pace in the wind tunnel. Hence, the work the Brackley team is doing on the W14 car is helpful on the race track, and they don’t have to compromise on the 2024’s car.
Toto Wolff Says His Team Has Set Sail For The Next Year’s Title
Meanwhile, the team boss Toto Wolff revealed that the group had laser-locked their eye to get back on title-winning form. In his mid-season review, he added that he sees light at the end of the tunnel of this difficult season. Despite not having a great start to the season with zero side pods, Wolff believes his team’s engineers have gradually comprehended the car better. Moreover, the chief knows it takes time to change the car aerodynamically and fundamentally.
It is frustrating for the former champions. But Mercedes knows where they must add performance. However, the most important thing is to provide the drivers with a more reliable car. Like the Mercedes CTO, Toto Wolff also echoed the team’s focus that shifted to the 2024’s car. Hence, the German team will learn more about the car in the second half of the season.