George Russell Optimistic About Mercedes’ W15 in 2024, Breaks Away from Previous F1 Design Pitfalls
George Russell expressed confidence in the new W15 F1 car for the 2024 season, distinguishing it from the hastily developed W14. He believes that lessons learned from the past will guide Mercedes to avoid repeating previous design mistakes.
Key Takeaways:
- New Strategy for W15: Russell highlighted that Mercedes is not repeating the hasty development process of the W14 car. With a year of additional data and experience, the team is focusing on a well-researched and thoroughly tested approach for the W15.
- Mercedes’ Recent Struggles: The W13 and W14 cars underperformed in the ground effect era, particularly against Red Bull’s RB19. The ‘zeropod’ concept, a failed design reintroduced in 2023, highlighted the need for a new direction.
- Optimistic Outlook for 2024: Despite the dominance of Red Bull’s RB19, Russell maintains an open mind for the upcoming season. He acknowledges the challenge but feels confident that Mercedes will avoid past design traps, setting a positive tone for 2024.
George Russell, stepping into the 2024 Formula 1 season with Mercedes, brings a fresh perspective and optimism for the team’s new car, the W15. Distinguishing it from the previous year’s W14, which was a rushed effort, Russell points out that the team has been meticulous this time. He stresses that the W15 is not a “rushed” concept, a critical difference that could lead to better performance.
The past two seasons have been challenging for Mercedes. The introduction of the ground effect era in 2022 saw the team missing its targets with its W13 and W14 cars. Compounded by Red Bull’s dominating RB19, which secured 21 wins in 22 races last year, Mercedes faced a tough challenge. The ‘zeropod’ concept, reintroduced in 2023, was a misstep that the team had to abandon for a more successful design.
Russell, alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton, managed to secure second place in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship, despite the challenges. He credits this to the team having gathered sufficient data to identify what works and what doesn’t in car design. In a candid conversation with Motorsport.com, Russell revealed, “I think last year it was all a little bit rushed. We didn’t have all the information to hand, we may have jumped to a couple of conclusions without thoroughly going through the consequences.”
He further elaborated, “And we learned when the car hit the ground this year that we made a step forward in some regards, but it came with a lot of baggage and we hadn’t taken that into consideration. So, I think we’ve done a great job to truly understand what we need. We’ve obviously had a further 12 months’ experience to further understand the car and what brings the performance. I think last year we put all our eggs in one basket and that wasn’t a basket that provided the performance we were expecting.”
Russell’s awareness of the huge gap that Mercedes needs to close, given Red Bull’s dominance, is critical for the team’s strategy. His confidence in not falling into the same traps as last year and going into the next season with an open mind is a testament to his and the team’s resilience. His concluding thoughts, “I don’t think anyone’s expecting either us, McLaren, Aston Martin or Ferrari to make that step straightaway. But [I’m] definitely confident we won’t fall into some of the same traps we did this [last] year,” set a hopeful tone for Mercedes’ 2024 endeavors in F1 racing.
