Have Mercedes Finally Got It Right? - Explaining the Team's Performance Jump

It’s been no secret that Mercedes have been struggling to catch the front of the pack in Formula 1 since the introduction of new regulations back in 2022. The eight-time Constructors’ champions have been struggling to reclaim the glory of the past decade since then, falling not just behind Red Bull, but in the past year the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, and, at times, Aston Martin. 

This year, the introduction of Mercedes all-new W15 hailed as the solution to their problems has started the season on the backfoot. The Brackley-based team have slipped to fourth in the constructors, and poor pace and difficult handling has caused headache for both drivers as they try to bring the car into contention with frontrunners. 

Entering the season, performance was far behind that of their competitors as we went lights-out in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where the drivers took home a P5 and P6 in the opening two races. A respectable result, but not for a team with the resource and recent history of Mercedes. Continuing with their early-season issues, a DNF for both drivers ended hopes for points haul in Australia, and a further series of sub-par results saw the team, on average, about 0.660 seconds off the pace. 

Things seemed to turn a corner in Canada however, with Russell setting a blistering 1:12.000 - an identical time to Max Verstappen, securing the team’s first pole position of the year. A sudden jump in pace translated to a solid result for the outfit, with the first podium of the year for Russell, and a P4 for Hamilton. 

Into Spain, it became clear that Canada was no fluke, with Hamilton now taking a podium position and Russell in P4. It’s looking good for the team, with Hamilton hailing the Spanish GP as his best drive of the season, and both drivers commenting that the work done by Mercedes seems to be translating to a more drivable, and importantly, faster car on the track.  

So, what's caused Mercedes' sudden jump in performance? 

Right away, it’s important to note that this hasn’t happened overnight. Mercedes have been working hard behind the scenes all season to bringing upgrades to the W15, as well as taking time to rejig their whole operation to focus on bringing the team back to its glory years. It seems to be working. 

Starting with the Miami GP, the team have been bringing consistent upgrades to the car, with new bodywork, floor, and crucially, a new front wing which has proved to be a big boost when it comes to performance. 
After dropping the ‘legality tube’ feature on the front wing for Russell in Monaco, and later Hamilton, the car seems to perform better on a wider range of corners. The original designed suffered in low-speed sections, where Hamilton commented, “the slower the corner, the less the car likes to turn.” 

Entirely reprofiled, the front wing is more consistent. 

It seems that Mercedes are finally implementing upgrades that are making real differences to the car’s performance, and recent results in Canada and Spain can attest to this. It’ll be interesting to see if the car continues to perform as we head into the next two races in Austria and Silverstone, but it definitely looks as though they’re on the right track and we’re the closest we’ve been to a Mercedes win all year. 

We’ll keep attention on the Brackley-based team as they continue to develop their car and bring it into further contention with the rest of the frontrunners as the development race continues into the second half of the season. 

Want to catch Mercedes’ bring the possibility of a three-Brit podium to Silverstone? Tickets to next week’s Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix are still available here.