Mercedes struggled to adapt to Formula 1’s ground effect regulations and quickly lost its mantle as the top constructor. The Brackley-based team launched the W15 knowing that it still had a long way to go if it was to catch Red Bull under the current ruleset. After abandoning its ‘zero sidepod’ design midway through last season, the team fitted the W15 with sidepod inlets that looked different to most others in the field. Rather than following the Red Bull trajectory of a shallow opening when viewed from the front, Mercedes’ inlets have a lower lip that tapers down. Mercedes also rolled out a new chassis, gearbox casing and floor. The pull-rod rear suspension of the W14 was replaced with a pushrod, as previewed in the switch made by Mercedes customer team Aston Martin earlier in the phase of 2024 car launches.
‘The design of any car is an iterative process,’ said Mercedes technical director James Allison. ‘And a long one at that. It stretches back to last year. A new car enables the team to make bigger alterations that are not possible during the season. These are decisions that are taken during the preceding summer.’
‘A big focus has been on improving the previous car’s unpredictable rear axle. We have worked hard to ensure that both axles, but particularly the rear axle, retain better control of the tyre than on the W14.
‘There’s also been some housekeeping on areas in which we had room for improvement, including the DRS effect, and pit stop performance.’
The Mercedes-AMG W15 underwent its first shakedown on Wednesday, 14 February at a soggy Silverstone, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton driving. The first real-world images of the car showed more detail than the initial renders, including a very high upper front wishbone on the front suspension. The front wing design is also different from the renders.
