Development lag behind fluctuating 2024 F1 form

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin believes the group’s fluctuating kind over the 2024 Components 1 season was a results of it being pegged again in growth in making an attempt to get better from a tricky begin.

The Brackley-based squad opted for a wholly new method with its W15 idea, choosing a extra typical sidepod resolution and pushrod-activated rear suspension meeting.

It took time for the group to totally suss out the deserves of its new automobile earlier than it may flesh the ideas on it out additional, which Shovlin reckoned set it again in opposition to the opposite groups within the season’s growth cycle.

He says Mercedes’ upgrades had been normally out of sync with these of its top-four rivals, permitting it to stay extra aggressive for a few rounds earlier than biking behind within the pecking order as soon as the opposite groups had launched new elements.

“I believe the massive one is growth. And if you happen to have a look at once we introduced our updates in comparison with our predominant opponents, we had been typically bringing our huge package deal a few races later,” Shovlin defined.

“But when we introduced it earlier, it could be a smaller package deal. So the actual fact is, on common, over a season, we have not been fast sufficient once we ship an replace, we had just a few races the place we had been aggressive, the groups had been making an attempt to beat them, convey theirs, and so they moved again forward.

“That is undoubtedly the principle mechanism. I believe the beginning of the season was poor. The automobile wasn’t properly balanced, wasn’t working throughout a spread of tracks.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photographs

“We received on high of these points over the primary seven or so races. After which I believe we have simply been in a traditional growth race over the rest of the yr.”

Shovlin added that one of many group’s objectives for its 2025 automobile is to scale back the quantity of tyre overheating on the rear axle, as he felt that this was an space the place Mercedes paled versus its front-running rivals.

Though the W15 was capable of get its tyres as much as temperature extra simply than others in colder situations, this led to earlier thermal degradation at hotter circuits.

He additionally famous that Mercedes’ struggles to get on high of optimising its automobile round a given journey top was additionally a part of its issues, because the W15 tended to wrestle on bumpier circuits.

“Rear overheating, that is an space the place I do not assume we’re nearly as good as McLaren, Crimson Bull or Ferrari, and that is in all probability affected as most lately at tracks like Singapore,” Shovlin added.

“So we’re taking a look at what we will do to get temperature out of the rear tyres – and any work in that space is twofold: one is can we put much less temperature in? And the opposite one is, can we take extra temperature out?

“However that is clearly an space the place, on a Sunday, we had a giant hole to the entrance in a few of these races. And undoubtedly an space of focus for subsequent yr.

“It is very reasonable to say on these [bumpier] tracks, we do undergo extra typically. You are able to do evaluation on how excessive persons are working, and I do not assume we’re wildly totally different to anybody else, however journey is an space that we have been specializing in with these rules.

“On the whole, we have made progress. However the entire thing of growth in Components 1 is fixing issues, and may you repair them faster than your opponents. And that is the way you get to the entrance.”