Toto Wolff is anticipating the performance potential of the revamped Mercedes W15 next season.
Having acknowledged the team’s admission of pursuing the wrong car concept with the W13 and W14 during the initial years of the ground-effect regulations, Mercedes are now adopting a new philosophy for the upcoming season.
The all-new W15, set to be unveiled on Valentines Day, represents a departure from the 2023 model, despite performance improvements unlocked during the season.
Following two years of efforts to narrow the gap to Red Bull with the ‘zeropod’ concept, former technical director Mike Elliott has handed over responsibilities to James Allison.
Wolff: We have to keep momentum
Having learned valuable lessons from the inconsistent performance of the 2022 and 2023 cars, Wolff has expressed confidence that Mercedes is better positioned for success in 2024.
“We have a gap to the leaders,” he explained to Sky Sports F1. But the two teams, at Brixworth and Brackley, are so motivated.
“We have so many good things in the pipeline, so many new things, and, with all the learning we had, [we are] really in a good place to see what’s coming together.
“[We have] got to take the momentum now from the P2 in the championship and take the momentum to the factories.”
Wolff: Monumental endeavour coming up
As Mercedes shifts strategy for 2024, Red Bull’s upcoming car is an evolution of the RB19. Acknowledging ‘diminishing returns’, Christian Horner anticipates challenges for Red Bull.
Wolff is optimistic that Red Bull’s growth has reached a standstill, giving rival teams more opportunities.
“To be honest, Red Bull has a gap because they adapted to the new regulations very quickly,” Wolff remarked.
“That’s a huge undertaking to catch up.”
Hopefully, they will eventually level off with their rate of development at which point we will be able to catch up. It’s not just about adding a tenth of downforce; our car had a serious issue.
“I think we can advance like other teams have if we can work out the car’s instability and the drivers’ lack of confidence in it.”
Leave a Reply