Un uphill start to the season for the silver arrows, which after the first three rounds of 2024, find themselves fourth in the constructors' standings. The double withdrawal in Australia it constitutes a signal very alarming for Mercedes, which now asks itself what are the problems with the W15.
A cycle that seems to have no end
The Brackley team's winning streak was interrupted with the project W13 in 2022, with a single-seater that suffered in the first races of pouring and subsequently of Bouncing – initially masked by the first problem. Looking back and comparing ourselves with the present, the problems encountered in that period by Mercedes appear a walk in the park compared to the current W15 ones.
Il project for 2024 was born for resolve difficulties had in the previous two years, or at least so they thought. THE runners in fact they say worry about unpredictability of the behavior of the single-seater, which thus finds itself fighting for secondary positions for the third consecutive year.
La Mercedes currently holds the 4th place in the constructors' classification, behind Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. With both cars retired in the Australian race, the team led by Toto Wolff leaves for Japan with only 26 points in your baggage. A decreasing trend over the years, considering that after 3 games they scored 65 points in 2022 and 56 in 2023.
Problematic start to the season for the Brackley team
In Bahrain il gap was content between the two silver arrows and the cars that finished on the podium, this is due to the layout of the circuit with slow corners and moderate speed. THE limitations and problems of the W15 they began to emerge starting from the second weekend of the season, i.e. the one in Jeddah, where the two Mercedes single-seaters experienced a anomalous behavior in fast corners.
The work then concentrated on the bottom ahead of Melbourne, reporting the first specification seen in the tests in Bahrain, which It solved some problems but caused others. Friday's free practice ended with number #44 complaining of little feeling with the car, but Russell's 4th place and 5th by Hamilton in FP3 he made us think that the problems had been resolved. The cold shower arrived in qualifying, a few hours after those free practices that had rekindled hope.
George he qualified seventh, 8 tenths behind the poleman, while it is the middle of the night in the other part of the Mercedes garage, with Lewis is it doesn't make the cut from Q2 to Q3. It also weighs double withdrawal: that of Hamilton for power unit problems, while that of Russell due to an accident on the penultimate lap of the race, who would otherwise have finished in seventh position.
Problems with the W15: Allison, Mercedes' technical director, speaks
According to the Mercedes technical director, James Allison, there are several problems that prevent the W15 from showing off its potential. One of these is the lack of load, already reported previously by the pilots. To gain load the technicians of Brackley team they lowered the car, which however triggered a change rebounds at the rear.
Then there is a correlation problem between data of the track and those of the simulator. If the data is misaligned then even the simulation tools present in the factory - fundamental for the design and development of the single-seater - become unreliable.
The latest problem faced by the W15, especially in Australia, is the tendency to suffer high temperature. After an analysis of the data, Allison stated the clear gap between FP3 and qualifying, but as there was no change to the set-up, the cause of that difference lies in temperature. It should be taken into account that it is normal for as the temperature varies there is a window in which the car works better.
Not just on the track: disaster also at Fanta F1
A "wanting to punch your nose" there is not only Toto Wolff, but they will certainly be of the all the Fantamanagers have the same opinion who fielded one of the two Mercedes drivers. In Melbourne the penalty for retirement arrived, both for George and for Lewis, especially heavy for those who believed in the potential of the seven-time World Champion, who was not even able to reach Q3.
La average of points obtained from Russell in these three days of the championship at Fanta F1 it is +7, while for Hamilton è +0.87 points. It is therefore not surprising that with the new quotes both English decrease in value: Russell at 27 and Hamilton at 30 credits. An average that is too low considering the price that fantasy managers have to pay to include them in their training.
