Mercedes have revealed their focus for the rest of the 2024 season is gaining understanding of their slow-corner weak point to make sure it does not stay on subsequent 12 months’s challenger.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have largely struggled for the reason that summer season break, with the previous claiming the crew’s solely podium within the final seven races.
An absence of efficiency has endured regardless of the introduction of great upgrades to the W15 – most not too long ago at October’s United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Talking within the crew’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix race debrief, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin stated: “The place we are typically weak, it’s within the gradual velocity corners, notably those the place you’ve got one nook following into one other. There may be plenty of turning of the automotive, and that could be a weak point that we have to work on.
“We didn’t count on this replace package to enhance that. All we anticipated was this to only elevate the bottom efficiency of the automotive. By way of what we have now seen, we’re assured it’s doing what was anticipated.
“However, we are also confident there are some fundamentals that we have got to get to grips with on this car in order to fix them on the W16, and we are very busy with that right now, and hopefully making the right changes over the winter so that we are not struggling with these weaknesses next year.”
Mercedes’ lack of kind for the reason that summer season break has seen them left in no man’s land within the Constructors’ Championship, with the title-contending trio of McLaren, Ferrari and Pink Bull nicely clear, and Aston Martin too far again to threaten their fourth place.
Often, the prize cash accessible from the constructors’ contest would hold groups absolutely targeted on efficiency till the top of the season, however Mercedes’ uncommon place of certainty with three rounds to go – and even earlier – has given them an opportunity to look forward.
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Lewis Hamilton was left annoyed after ending tenth in his Mercedes on the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Shovlin stated: “The main thing in terms of learning is that the corners that we are weak in are still the same ones. It is the interconnected, slow corners. That is normally where we trip up.
“The massive focus in these remaining races for us is studying what we are able to. We’re able within the championship the place we can not problem in entrance of us. It is extremely unlikely we’re going to see any problem from behind.
“Our focus has very much shifted to learning what we need to this year to apply to next year in order to get on top of those issues.”
Shovlin says the number of remaining circuits is especially useful to Mercedes, with Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi all offering totally different challenges.
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Lewis Hamilton struggled within the rain round Interlagos, qualifying solely sixteenth for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“We are going to be looking at all the remaining tracks to assess performance and just confirm what we understand about this car and whether the changes we are hoping to make for next year are going to improve those areas,” Shovlin added.
“Vegas has a lot of straight line and low-speed corners. Qatar is a faster track. And then, finishing in Abu Dhabi, which is a mix of everything, it will give us a good read on how we are performing and who is the benchmark.
“Typically it’s Pink Bull, typically McLaren, typically Ferrari, however it is going to enable us to ascertain the hole that we have to shut down over these winter months.”
Russell: Car more inconsistent than ever
Speaking ahead of what turned out to be a relatively encouraging display from him at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Russell described the W15 as the “most inconsistent” automotive he had pushed throughout his three seasons with the crew.
Russell joined a crew that had claimed eight successive Constructors’ titles, however their struggles following the introduction of latest design regulation at first of 2022 has seen the Brit declare simply two grand prix victories.
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Mercedes driver George Russell had an enormous crash into the obstacles throughout second apply on the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix.
“I think in 2022, in the sort of porpoising era, without doubt that was far more unpleasant,” Russell stated.
“But because of the nature of those cars, it was far harder to get close to the limit because you were literally jumping around every single corner, and you knew that it was going to bite you.
“The issue we have got with this automotive in the intervening time is you suppose it is not going to chunk you, and you’ll obtain a extremely nice lap.
“Then, suddenly nothing changes, or you feel nothing changes, and the following lap you lose all of that performance.
“No doubt that is most likely probably the most inconsistent our efficiency has been as a crew in most likely perpetually.”
Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22-24, live on Sky Sports F1 where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Get Sky Sports activities F1 to look at each race and extra dwell
