Mercedes F1 reveals early success in 2024, surpassing their victory expectations ahead of schedule.
Mercedes F1 admits its W15 has surpassed expectations this F1 season, after the team had targeted victories only towards the season’s end.
Following its first winless season in 11 years in 2023, Mercedes embarked on a new development path under the technical leadership of James Allison.
After a challenging start to the season, the team has consistently emerged as a favourite since introducing a new front wing at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell securing three wins in the last four races between them.
The W15 has also claimed two pole positions, with Russell qualifying ahead of the pack in Canada and Great Britain.
Andy Shovlin, chief track engineer, revealed the team’s “brilliant” response to its early-season setbacks.
He disclosed that the team had only hoped to be contending for victories and pole positions towards the season’s end, with Mercedes now “enjoying racing again” following its recent performance improvements.
“The key takeaway for 2024 so far is the progress.”
“Where we were at the start of the season in Bahrain and Jeddah, it was hard to look at the car and understand what needed to be done to make it fast. We could see it had some strengths, but also many weaknesses. The team responded brilliantly to this challenge.”
“We know where we want to go in terms of performance level. We knew we wanted to win races, and we set ourselves the goal by the end of the season, to qualify on pole and win races.”
“We’ve now won three races in the last four. We’ve had six consecutive podiums. This is perhaps more than we expected at this stage. We’re really enjoying racing now, we’re enjoying the challenge.”
“It feels like the team has some momentum and we hope we can keep this going until the end of the season, continue to develop and, hopefully, continue to win a few more races.”
In any case, things look much better for 2025. Could this be a return to the top before the rule changes in 2026? Shovlin smiles…
“Given the recent developments have brought the performances we hoped for, and next year’s car will likely be a close cousin to this year’s, we are now more confident than in previous years about our ability to continue this momentum into next year.”
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Mercedes F1 Exceeds 2024 Goals, Early Victories Shock Team Mercedes F1 Exceeds 2024 Goals, Early Victories Shock Team
