Mercedes unveils the W15, their updated Formula 1 vehicle for 2024, in an effort to “climb the mountain” and take on Red Bull.
Watch pre-season testing live on Sky Sports F1 starting on February 21. Lewis Hamilton’s final Mercedes before joining Ferrari has been revealed. The former champions have changed their design philosophy and introduced a new livery for 2024.
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Toto Wolff, the principal of the Mercedes team, discusses the major modifications made to the vehicle and his expectations for the 2024 Formula One season.
Mercedes has introduced the extensively modified vehicle, dubbed a full relaunch, in the hopes of climbing the mountain and passing Red Bull in Formula 1 2024.
The team has also unveiled a revised livery for the W15, which includes the addition of Petronas’ green paint to complement the black of previous seasons, along with the much-anticipated return of Mercedes’ classic silver on the car’s nose.
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In addition, Lewis Hamilton will be driving the team’s 12th and last car following the shocking announcement at the beginning of the month that he had activated a break option in his new two-year Mercedes deal to leave for Ferrari in 2025.
Team manager Toto Wolff stated, Obviously, this will be our last season with Lewis; therefore, we are intent on actually bringing a quick car. Mercedes had only won one race in 2022 and was without a victory in 11 years in 2023.
At the launch ceremony from Silverstone, Hamilton made his first public appearance since rumors of his Ferrari switch spread, along with teammate Wolff and George Russell.
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Hamilton described the past few weeks as clearly emotional. Being here, considering that I joined the team in 2013 and I’m beginning my 12th year here, feels quite odd.
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In anticipation of his final season with Mercedes before joining Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton looks back on his time there.
It’s fascinating to know everything that’s under the hood—something George and I will experience on the track—even if this is the first time I have seen the car come together as a whole.
Later on Wednesday, at the British GP venue, Hamilton and Russell—who is beginning his third year at Mercedes—completed their maiden circuits in the W15.
Next week, on February 21–23, the car and crew will travel to Bahrain for pre-season testing. Sky Sports F1 will broadcast live coverage of all three days of this important track time.
According to Wolff, the W15 is a total relaunch of the team’s strategy for the current regulatory age, which has been completely controlled since the start of 2022 by rivals Red Bull, who had won 21 of the 22 races in the previous season.
We are aware that fighting at the front requires us to climb a mountain. Co-owner Wolff, who inked a new three-year contract during the winter to continue serving as the team’s CEO and principle while he tries to lead Mercedes’ comeback to the front of the grid, acknowledged that there are no miracles in this sport.
However, we have a strong sense of goal and resolve.
Since taking this new direction, development has gone quite nicely. We prioritized a number of things with this vehicle. We’ll find out shortly if we’ve taken the desired move.
The team’s technical director, James Allison, stated: We think we’ve made progress this winter, but Formula 1 is a relative sport. Only time will tell how much.
We are thrilled about the development race that will follow because the regulations are still new and opportunities abound, but we are focused on getting the most out of the car we launch.
Mercedes explains the W15’s full revamp.
Mercedes knew they had a vitally important year ahead of them in 2024 after two years of underachievement since F1’s technical rules were changed, even before they found out that this would be Hamilton’s final season at Brackley.
Nearly a year ago, following the first qualifying session of the 2023 season in Bahrain, where their new car qualified 0.6 seconds behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for pole position, Wolff made a public admission that Mercedes was not going to be successful with the design strategy they had used for the W13 and W14 ground-effect cars and that they would need to make drastic changes going forward.
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George Russell is eager to attempt to lead Mercedes back to the top of the Formula One standings in 2024, looking forward to an exciting season.
Although they finished a respectable second in the constructors’ championship ahead of Ferrari, who undoubtedly finished the year with the faster car, this contributed to their approach to upgrades to the W14 for the remainder of the previous season, including the unique but ultimately unsuccessful ‘zero-sidepod’ concept abandoned from May’s Monaco GP.
However, the team insisted that it could not fully embark on a different development path until this year’s brand-new W15.
Wolff clarified, This is a total relaunch of a car.
This is not like that at all. We have made numerous mechanical adjustments, mostly underneath the car rather than just on the aerodynamic surfaces, in the hopes that they would increase performance, predictability, and give drivers a car they can truly push.
We’ll see it in Bahrain the following week.
In order to give drivers more reliable and constant rear downforce so they may attack bends with confidence, Mercedes revised the chassis architecture for the 2024 model year.
A large focus has been on fixing the previous car’s unpredictable rear axle, stated Allison, who replaced Mike Elliott, who has since departed the team, in her return to the hands-on technical director role midway through the previous year.
We have put a lot of effort into making sure that both axles—but especially the rear axle—maintain superior tire control than on the W14. Additionally, there have been some housekeeping updates on the DRS effect and pit stop performance, two areas where we could have done better.
And Allison continued, With this current generation of vehicles, so much of the performance comes from how the floor interacts with the road, referring to what appear to be broad modifications, particularly on the vital floor and adjacent sections underneath the car, where Red Bull have shown so much power.
The degree to which that floor is allowed to behave aerodynamically determines whether or not an automobile is effective.
What goals does Mercedes have for 2024? Hamilton: “Prioritization is the key
Red Bull’s advantage from the previous season was so great that all of their direct competitors have been cautious in discussing whether they can challenge the world champions on a full scale as soon as the new season starts in Bahrain on February 29–March 2.
Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races and easily won their second consecutive constructors’ championship, scoring more than twice as many points as second-place Mercedes.
We want to compete at the front, but we also want to be at the front of that group and solidify our positions towards Ferrari, McLaren, and occasionally Aston Martin, stated Wolff.
This is our goal, and we are working toward it, but we also recognize how challenging it is, as you are lagging behind your primary rival who has started out flawlessly.
But we enjoy a challenge, which is why I can’t wait to watch the automobile drive—I know I can’t wait either.
Mercedes in the 2022 Formula One
Driver George Russell; Driver Lewis Hamilton; Team manager Toto Wolff
Mercedes W15 Engine Car; 2nd place finish in the 2023 championship
Top championship result: first (x8)
Race victories: 125 podiums, 289
Although Hamilton hasn’t won in two years following the contentious conclusion of the 2021 campaign, he stated that his goal for 2024 was to assist the squad in moving back to the top.
Getting the squad back to where we once were is the aim of the whole winter training, stated the seven-time world champion, who is attempting to win an unprecedented eighth championship.
These challenging years we’ve had, in my opinion, have really helped us get grounded. We were able to gather ourselves and take a closer look at the situation.
Now we just need to focus on being extremely meticulous in our job, comprehending the data, comprehending the vehicle, and making the most of our practice.
George and I might get a taste of what’s to come from even the one lap we might have in the rain today.
Russell, who led Mercedes to their lone victory of the modern era in Brazil in 2022 but had a patchy second season in their employ, believes the squad is fired up to return to the forefront.
I think that mix brings this fire within, said Russell of the team’s factories in Brackley and Brixworth. There are so many new people there who are so determined to send Mercedes back to the very top but there are also so many winners and champions.
Everyone is working so hard and is incredibly motivated and thrilled.
It’s a thrilling moment to see the vehicle here, but nothing counts until it touches the track and we see what the lap times create.
When does the Formula One preseason testing take place?
Three days are allotted to the teams to prepare for the upcoming season during pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, which runs from Wednesday, February 21 to Friday, February 23.
What day is the Formula One race?
In just one week, from February 29 to March 2, the Bahrain Grand Prix will take place, marking the start of the 2024 racing season.
The Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix seven days later will take place on a Saturday due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As a result, practice sessions one and two will happen on Thursdays, and practice sessions three and four will happen on Fridays.
