Метка: Mercedes

Mercedes «hasn’t felt good» in Hungary’s high temperatures

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes has resumed its current struggles in hot weather, labelling his Friday Hungarian Grand Prix practice sessions as «not a good day» as the team seeks to find a solution.

Despite its recent success which has yielded two consecutive victories in Austria and at Silverstone, Mercedes expected to struggle in the hot conditions prevalent in the Hungarian summer; as track temperatures in FP1 reached almost 60C in plus-30C ambient conditions.

Watch: McLaren Beat the Heat — F1 News — Hungarian Grand Prix Friday

Hamilton finished only 10th in FP1 and improved to seventh in second practice, while his team-mate George Russell managed fourth and fifth across the two Friday sessions.

This follows a pattern where the W15 has proven difficult to direct into the right set-up window amid hotter conditions and, although Hamilton reckoned the team had an inkling of what to change for FP3, he noted that the team had not «been on form» on Friday.

«Today’s not been a good day, really. The weather’s been good, and it’s nice to be here, but we’ve not really been on form today,» Hamilton explained.

«The car hasn’t felt good set-up-wise, but I think we have an idea why and we’ll just work overnight, but not the best prep so far.

«[We had] little tweaks [between FP1 and FP2], but the car was pretty much the same. There’s a particular thing that we left that we’re changing to this weekend that we probably need to go back on.

«But it’s all relatively close. Otherwise, I think we couldn’t do the pace that the other guys did today, but the long-run pace was pretty decent at the end. It just felt as bad as it does normally when it’s hot.»

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Russell stated that he expected FP2 pacesetter Lando Norris and F1 championship leader Max Verstappen to lead the line across the weekend, noting that in Spain and Austria «we were off the pace versus those two drivers, and in the cooler conditions in Silverstone and Montreal, we’re ahead of those two.»

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin had noted after FP1 that circuits like the Hungaroring, particularly in warm temperatures, were a key weakness for the team.

He however stated that this was a good opportunity for the team to face up to its challenges and try to put together a longer-term fix.

«We’ve still got the kind of question mark on performance in rear-limited circuits in hot conditions,» Shovlin said. «It’s going to be very hot on Sunday. So that’s what we’re working on. But I wouldn’t put us as favourites here.

«It’s a good circuit to test that. And when you’re trying to focus on one area of performance, if that’s rear overheating, the best place to learn and understand your issues is a circuit that exacerbates that problem, even if we’d prefer all of them be like Silverstone. But they’re not, and it’s a good place for us to work on that problem.»



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The wider significance of Mercedes’ back-to-back F1 wins

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lewis Hamilton was pretty open about the emotional importance of his British Grand Prix triumph after 945 days without a Formula 1 victory.

While the ghosts of Abu Dhabi 2021 may never truly be banished, at least the fear of never winning again following all the controversy of that evening has been laid to rest.

But there is also a statistical significance to what Mercedes did at the British Grand Prix because it is the first time since the exact same closing stage of 2021 that it has managed back-to-back wins.

In the current era of Red Bull dominance, it has been slim pickings for the Milton Keynes-based team’s opposition, with its rivals mostly only coming away with one-off wins, like Carlos Sainz in Singapore last year.

You have to go back to the 2022 British/Austrian GP to find the most recent non-Red Bull back-to-back wins when Sainz and Charles Leclerc delivered victories at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring in what ultimately proved to be the final flashes of potential from that year’s Ferrari before the RB18 hit its stride.

For Mercedes, its only previous victory in this ground effect era before George Russell’s triumph in Austria a few weeks ago was the Briton’s success in Brazil 2022 – which ultimately proved to mark a false dawn for the squad in feeling it had finally made a breakthrough in understanding its car.

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 1st position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 1st position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

To find its most recent successive triumphs, the calendar has to be rolled back to the end of 2021 and Hamilton’s own last wins before Silverstone, when he rolled off consecutive victories in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia ahead of the infamous season showdown in Abu Dhabi.

But while the headline successes point to Mercedes getting back to its best in F1, there is also a bigger picture at play – and that is how the shift in the competitive form of the top four teams could well now shake up the constructors’ championship situation.

In fact, the teams’ battle is a particularly fascinating one because F1 is currently witnessing a situation where the two top teams are not delivering as much as those chasing then.

Red Bull’s constructors’ tally is being hurt by Sergio Perez’s repeated non-scores, while Ferrari has lost its way as the result of a terrible Canadian GP and issues with a floor upgrade it brought to the Spanish GP.

In contrast, McLaren has emerged as a consistent frontrunner since it brought an upgrade to the Miami Grand Prix, while Mercedes has hit its peak form after the potential of its new package was helped by a new front wing from Monaco and suspension revisions from Austria.

Since the Monaco Grand Prix (so the last four races: Canada, Spain, Austria, and Britain), the scores have put Mercedes on top. It has scored 125 points, compared to McLaren’s 111, Red Bull’s 97 and Ferrari’s 50.

The shift is even more significant if you take just the last two races, where Mercedes appears to have made a step. In Austria/Silverstone, it scored 70 points, compared to McLaren’s 58, Red Bull’s 43 and Ferrari’s 32.

The gap between Mercedes and Red Bull is currently 152 points, but with 12 races to go – on current form – it’s not an insurmountable feat if it can keep up its current points scoring form.

But even if the Red Bull gap may perhaps be a step too far thanks to the Milton Keynes-based squad’s super strong start to the campaign as others floundered, it’s the fight for the best of the rest that could get very spicy.

In fact, tracking the gap between current second-placed Ferrari and Mercedes shows how much has changed even though their positions in the standings have not.

At its largest after the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari’s 252 points scored up until then had it 156 clear of Mercedes.

But since then, the Italian outfit has been outscored by its German manufacturer rival at each of the four races, and the gap between them has come down to 81 points.

Cutting into the deficit by 75 points over four races means an average of 18.75 points per grand prix – which means that on current form it will take just five more races for the gap to be wiped away completely.

After the British Grand Prix, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said he was under no illusion just how much the picture could change with his squad’s previously comfortable second place slot now at risk thanks to its upgrade struggles.

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

«I don’t know how many points we are behind Red Bull and how many points we are ahead of – I don’t know who is P3, it’s McLaren probably,» he smiled.

«It’s not the topic of today, the topic of today is to find performance, to come back in the situation of Monaco, or Imola, and to be able to fight for the pole position and the win.

«Then the [constructors’] championship, we have still 12 races to go, it’s almost a championship. It means we’ll have time to change everything 10 times…»

But it may not take 10 races for everything to change. Mercedes’ successes in Austria and Britain were not anticipated — indeed the Red Bull Ring owed much to luck thanks to Lando Norris and Max Verstappen colliding — as it had set sights on better results at venues to come.

In particular, it is heading to Hungary where it has been on pole position for the past two years – and its form should be boosted by an upgrade.

As team boss Toto Wolff said: «[In Austria] we weren’t far off. When you look at the gap that we had before the crash, it was maybe two tenths a lap, a bit more. And that is the closest we’ve been for a long time — on a track that we didn’t like so much in the past.

Photo by: Autosport

«So that kind of gave us hints that it could be getting much better. But honestly, we didn’t think it would be Silverstone — because there was barely anything, just small stuff that we put on the car. We were more expecting Budapest to Spa. But we have justified that what we do is right at the moment.»

The delivery of a victory hat-trick this weekend, for the first time since 2021, would be confirmation that Mercedes is properly back, and that there is everything to play for in the championship.

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How Mercedes has shielded Antonelli from F1 media glare

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Mercedes is enacting a plan to manage the media frenzy surrounding its Formula 1 junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli, which will advance whether or not he’s promoted from F2 for 2025.

Antonelli’s career has famously progressed at considerable pace, while the 17-year-old Italian’s close relationship with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after joining the manufacturer’s junior scheme in 2019 has long marked him out at as a future F1 star for the Silver Arrows squad.

But expectations surrounding Antonelli were raised massively in the fallout of Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari for 2025 – in part because the seven-time champion had signed a two-year, 1+1 contract in 2023 that Wolff admitted had been so arranged in case Mercedes felt it needed flexibility to promote another of its juniors with Hamilton’s career potentially winding up.

Indeed, when Hamilton made his shock announcement in February, Antonelli was quickly touted as his most likely replacement even as other candidates, including later a surprise Mercedes swoop for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen that still remains possible, were assessed.

Things have swung back and forth in the months since, with Antonelli’s lack of headline F2 results in the early part of the season – including his pitstop stall the day after his Prema Racing team-mate Ollie Bearman had won the Austrian sprint race – seemingly giving Carlos Sainz renewed hope of joining Mercedes for 2025, based on Wolff’s comments to Spanish media.

But that was before Antonelli impressively scored his first F2 win in the tricky wet Silverstone sprint race.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Photo by: Prema Powerteam

After this, he faced the F1 press corps – gaining respect for admitting his victory “was needed” in his first answer of a session where he went from guarded (his arms crossed, shield-like underneath holding his microphone) to open.

His explanation of how an F1 car “gives you a lot of confidence when you drive it because it has so much downforce that you can really push it” was revealing in the context of how younger drivers are more regularly being rapidly promoted to the top single-seater categories.

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These are expected to “swim”, as Wolff had repeatedly said in the same press conference room the day before.

That appearance in the official F2 press conference was only Antonelli’s second of the season, after he’d finished second in Melbourne qualifying.

Aside from the three-and-a-half-month time gap between those two sessions highlighting again that this F2 season has been rather a struggle for Antonelli and his Prema squad, it also showed two other elements.

The first was how he appeared much more confident following his Silverstone win — where, of course, the joy victory provides cannot be understated. This feeds directly into the second – in how Mercedes has been preparing Antonelli to face the media while also shielding him from it.

Aware it had to carefully manage Antonelli’s 2024, as well as needing to consider his young age in what can be a brutal sphere, Mercedes moved to tightly control his appearances.

Instead of allowing its junior to interact with and, to a certain extent, deal with media interviews and conversations in the F2 paddock directly as is typical – and how this writer dealt regularly with then Ferrari rising star Charles Leclerc in his rookie F2 title-winning season in 2017 in person and on the phone – Antonelli has been kept at arms’ length from those covering the junior category beat.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

But Mercedes has also been working in parallel behind the scenes with Antonelli – giving him in-house media training. As Wolff says, pressure on Antonelli is “going to get bigger” if his career progresses as expected.

Mercedes is also keenly aware that, if he is promoted to its F1 team, Antonelli will immediately be required to make regular appearances with its blue-chip sponsors and also interact directly with senior figures such as Mercedes-Benz Group CEO Ola Kallenius and INEOS boss Jim Ratcliffe.

The thinking behind Mercedes’ strategy is two-fold: in controlling Antonelli’s F2 media requirements, he could focus on adapting to a new category and his high-stakes season, and shielding him also additionally shuts out what can be a ferocious media market in his home country.

Autosport understands that Mercedes is likely to make Antonelli available for more media appearances as the 2024 season progresses, while further F2 successes will automatically get him more airtime.

His F1 future remains undecided, with Mercedes’ options, if it doesn’t feel he is quite ready to join George Russell and replace Hamilton at its works F1 team, including placing him at another squad further down the grid (say, Williams or Alpine) or indeed keeping him in F2 for 2025.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing

Photo by: Prema Powerteam

But it’s clear from another of his Silverstone press conference answers – “not always do I cope really well with pressure” – why Wolff is impressed with Antonelli’s wider abilities and not just his speed.

“What I like in terms of his attitude – generally his family, who has been always close to him – is the objective assessment of a situation, and that is ‘good or not good enough’,” Wolff replied when Autosport asked for his opinion on how his charge is coping with all the frenzy surrounding him in 2024.

“And I don’t think that the pressure harms at all the way he performs in the car and how he drives.

“You can clearly see it’s a good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman. They are pretty close. Ollie had an obviously very good race in Austria, and Kimi on the Sunday had a clutch release issue in the second race.

“So, you’ve got to swim. That’s clear. It was a rapid career progression. He’s 17. Hasn’t got even a driving licence for a road car.

“And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it’s going to get bigger.”



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Cooling or suspension revision? The Mercedes car nose panel tweak

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Formula 1’s British Grand Prix proved that Mercedes finally appears to be properly back in the game.

For where George Russell’s triumph in Austria owed much to the race leaders crashing out, Hamilton’s Silverstone win was one based on pure pace – where it could be argued the W15 was the fastest car.

Mercedes has made great progress this year and has unlocked significant gains from its car – which are the result of it finally understanding what is needed to make a current ground effect machine fast.

As team boss Toto Wolff said: “It clicked. Suddenly everything that didn’t make sense made sense. And the development direction is or the results of the development directions in back in the old days. We are finding performance, we’re putting it on the car, and it translates into lap time. And that wasn’t the case for the last two years.”

But the biggest breakthrough for Mercedes was not it suddenly unleashing a new aero component that produced a ton more downforce.

Instead, according to Wolff, it was down to the way that the team under technical director James Allison has been able to harness its package to bring a great car balance – which has helped put it in a happy place for both Hamilton and Russell.

Wolff added: “There was a moment where, led by James, suddenly the data made sense. The way we made it, the way we balanced the car and how we could bring it in a better sweet spot — that was the main thing. It wasn’t a miracle front wing. It was more the balance that we achieved.”

This reference to balance is interesting because it can often be the result of progress under the skin with mechanical aspects, like suspension and springs.

And whether it is a simple coincidence, or there is more to it, a tweak to a vanity panel on the nose of the W15 that first appeared at the Austrian Grand Prix may have offered a clue about a potential damper change that could have contributed to its progress.

Mercedes W15 technical detail

Mercedes W15 technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The vanity panel (pictured above) features a new bulge, which the team claims is all related to cooling – and is a means to increase the passage of cool air into the cockpit, albeit without the forward-facing inlet that the team has used before.

However, the idea that the new bulge is wholly related to cooling seems to be in contrast to how the air would move through that portion of the car. Usually, you would expect driver cooling to be piped to a specific region.

This eliminates some of the messy flow conditions that would occur, which is especially problematic when we consider how many different components are housed in that region, some of which are suspension elements and are moving around.

Furthermore, it seems quite weird to have increased the bulge to potentially offer more airflow but at the same time that a forward vent is closed off to the outside air.

Beyond that, the team did not submit the vanity panel as being altered in the car presentation document at the Austrian Grand Prix either — which somewhat rules it out as being updated from an aerodynamic standpoint.

Fast forward to the British GP and the retention of this new chassis bulge, in cold conditions that aren’t conducive to the drivers requiring additional cooling, fuelled the idea that there is more to the change than meets the eye – and that the real answer lies in what has been altered beneath the panel.

Indeed, while the team is not confirming it, a detailed study of the components in this area points to a revised damper layout that requires more space. Such a change could be critical to helping Mercedes add further stability to its aero platform and, once again, nail that balance that it has been pursuing for so long.

Mercedes certainly has precedent for adding a bulge in this area of the car when it has made suspension changes in the past.

Mercedes W06 hydraulic parts, front suspension

Mercedes W06 hydraulic parts, front suspension

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Back in 2016, this was a dual-purpose test, as the team experimented with a new arrangement on the W06 for the following season that included both an ‘S’ duct arrangement and a revised heave damper.

It was during that time period that Mercedes was widely acknowledged to have had the best handle on suspension kinematics and their influence over the aerodynamic platform of the entire grid.

For example, Mercedes had one of the most advanced versions of the front-to-rear interconnected (FRIC) suspension systems, before the concept was banned. It was this that set the foundation for its highly-successful hydraulic suspension systems that followed.

A switch to more traditional spring and damper arrangements with the current cars has undoubtedly eroded some of the assistance that Mercedes and other teams lent on before the regulation changes.

It now has a Belleville Spring arrangement, which is almost unilaterally agreed as being the best route taken for the design of the heave damper, and Mercedes uses the method as a means to help control the vertical displacement of the chassis.

It is this component that is the likely candidate for upgrade or replacement that has led to the use of the bulging vanity panel.

Mercedes W15 technical detail

Mercedes W15 technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A modified heave element and/or a change in the position of the component would also tie in with some of the aerodynamic changes that the team has made recently. Tweaks here will go hand-in-hand to deliver a more stable platform, something which the team has struggled with during this regulatory era.

The W15 also now appears more responsive over a range of conditions and downforce levels, whereas updates appearing on the car in the past seem to have worked well at one circuit but fallen short of their target elsewhere.

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Russell felt on «verge of getting knocked out» before British GP pole

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


George Russell feared he was set for an early Formula 1 qualifying elimination before securing pole for the British Grand Prix, and felt his car came alive in Q3.

Both Mercedes drivers had brief flirtations with the elimination zone across the opening phases of qualifying at Silverstone, but managed to haul themselves into the final shootout for pole.

Russell said that this was where the performance of his W15 ratcheted up, although he admitted that it was «the most pressure I’ve ever felt in a qualifying session» as he felt his confidence being knocked by the first phases.

Nonetheless, Russell led the way after the opening flurry of laps in qualifying; Lewis Hamilton overcame his team-mate’s benchmark on his second lap, but the younger Briton returned the favour to clinch his second pole of the season.

«This is definitely one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a Saturday afternoon and the car was just insane when we went out in Q3, it just really came alive,» Russell said. «It was one of the best feelings I’ve had driving this circuit — crossing the line with my name in P1.

«And then with both of us on the front row, we couldn’t have even dreamed of that after the first three or four races.

Pole man George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Pole man George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

«In Q3, we really turned it up, because Q1 and Q2 were very, very challenging. I felt like I was about to get knocked out at various points. The track was improving every single lap.

«And probably going into Q3 was the most pressure I’ve ever felt in a qualifying session because the whole Q1 and Q2 runs, it felt like I was on the verge of getting knocked out every single occasion.

«I wasn’t feeling that confident with myself, but as soon as I went through Turn 1 and Turn 2 in Q3 I felt good and managed to do the laps.»

Russell was slower in the first sector of his pole lap, but noted the point at which it began to improve to yield the ultimate two-tenth improvement.

He added that, although Mercedes was expecting to lose «a tenth or two» to second-row occupiers Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, weather would leave a question mark upon Sunday’s race with more rain forecast.

«From Turn 6 to Turn 9, I gained a lot; Turn 6 and 7 was mega, a big headwind through there so I braked really late and could just carry the speed through the corners. But it was just on rails, the car. I just felt so confident in it.

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«I think realistically we know we’ve got a tenth or two behind Lando and Max, but I think we’ve got a good fight on our hands.

«The weather’s going to play a huge part in that; it’s been raining and drying up throughout the last couple of days. There’s a bit of rain on the forecast tomorrow, we’re probably on course for another Montreal-style race.»



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Mercedes F1 car is «at its max» right now and only likes one set-up

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes’ «peaky» 2024 Formula 1 car is running at its «maximum» performance level without more upgrades and only responds to one set-up.

Hamilton finished third in Sunday’s 2024 Spanish Grand Prix – 17.8s behind winner Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Lando Norris following closely for McLaren and with the polesitter feeling he should have been victorious.

The result is Hamilton’s best of the season so far and represents his first podium appearance since the 2023 Mexican GP, which he called a «big boost to finally get a good result».

«We’re slowly getting closer,» he added in the post-race press conference. «Last year, we were very fast here, so you have to take it with a pinch of salt, but obviously the last couple of races we’ve been relatively competitive.

«So, I think we have closed the gap a little bit, but we still have a good couple of tenths to try and find. We just have to have all hands on deck and keep pushing.»

When asked if Mercedes was still fine-tuning the W15 package that has recently been updated with a new front wing concept and lighter floor, Hamilton replied: «No, I think that’s the maximum it’s got at the moment.

«But we’re always fine-tuning it with subtle changes that we make. So, we are always fine-tuning it and we continue to tune it through the year.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 3rd position, waves from the podium

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 3rd position, waves from the podium

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

«But we need to bolt some stuff on, some extra bits to be able to compete with these guys.»

Hamilton had to battle back after being overtaken by team-mate and early leader George Russell at the start of the Barcelona race, but he was able to recover the third-place starting spot he had secured with his best qualifying result of the year so far behind Norris and Verstappen on Saturday.

Having discussed his inconsistent qualifying results to this point in 2024, Hamilton revealed that Mercedes’ car apparently only responds to a single set-up in everything he has tried in adjustments since the start of the current rules era, as well as a weakness in tyre preparation.

«Our pace is where we were, basically – third or fourth this weekend,» he said.

«But I think our car is generally quite peaky and that means that it’s often out of balance. It’s very rare that it’s in balance and it’s nice and smooth through a corner.

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«So, set-up – I’ve obviously experimented a lot with set-up over the last couple of years, but the car doesn’t really like any of the set-ups but one.

«It’s slowly starting to become nicer to drive. And ultimately tyres. Tyres have been a huge issue for me.

«So, I think we got it half-decent this weekend. If I can make some improvements over the course of the next races, I think there’s more performance there.»



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Mercedes calls in police over anonymous Hamilton F1 sabotage email

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that the police are involved in investigating the source of an anonymous email accusing the team of trying to deliberately sabotage Lewis Hamilton’s car.

An anonymous email, sent to the same list of F1 and media representatives who were forwarded alleged WhatsApp messages involving Christian Horner earlier this year, said Mercedes was playing a dangerous game.

The message claimed to be from a team member and accused Mercedes and especially Wolff of “systematic sabotaging” of Hamilton’s car, strategy and mental health.

It went on to claim that there were «underhand» actions taking place and feared that the squad was on a “dangerous path” that could “ultimately be life-threatening to Lewis.”

It is also understood that follow-up WhatsApp messages were sent from a mobile phone to selected individuals.

Mercedes has dismissed any suggestion that the email has any element of the truth and are clear that the communications have not come from an employee.

Speaking at the Spanish Grand Prix, a clearly agitated Wolff said that the police had been called in as he vowed to find the perpetrator.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“It’s not from a member of the team,” said Wolff. “When we are getting these kinds of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when there is somebody talking about death and all these things.

“On this particular one, I have instructed to go on full force. We have the police inquiring [about] it. We’re researching the IP address. We are researching the phone. All of that because online abuse in that way needs to stop. People can’t hide behind their phones or their computers and abuse teams or drivers in a way like this.”

Wolff said it was inconceivable that Mercedes would deliberately derail its efforts in the constructors’ championship by holding back one of its drivers on purpose.

“I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there,” he added.

“Lewis has been part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.

“If you don’t believe all of that, then you can believe that we want to win the constructors’ world championship. And part of the constructors’ world championship is making both cars win. So, to all of these mad people out there, take a shrink.”

Wolff went on to explain that he found it especially frustrating that people were hiding behind anonymous identities to criticise rather than being open about it.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, heads to the grid

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, heads to the grid

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“There will always be people that have the laptop on their chest in their bedroom and just typing away,” he said.

“If people feel like they want to abuse and hit out and hide behind a made-up Instagram account, or anything else that, for me is… come up, say who you are, and we’ll take the criticism and discuss. But don’t hide.”

He added: “If emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me the joking stops, and we will pursue it, whether that is successful or not. But there are limits to certain things.”



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Silverstone needs to stop F1 ticket prices rising too much

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Lewis Hamilton says that Silverstone needs to ensure its Formula 1 ticket pricing strategy does not get out of hand, citing rising living costs as British Grand Prix prices rise.

The Silverstone race is yet to sell out its full capacity ahead of July’s event, having achieved a total attendance of 480,000 last year across the grand prix weekend.

Although the circuit’s managing company puts this down to multiple areas: the post-COVID bounce losing its effect, changing habits among ticket buyers, and the dominance of Red Bull, the price of tickets has also been suggested as a factor by those seeking to attend the grand prix.

Remaining four-day grandstand tickets are all priced about £600, with general admission in that span currently available for over £400.

Hamilton stated that ensuring ticket prices do not increase any further should be top of Silverstone’s priorities, and should also work on making it a more affordable event overall.

«I mean, it’s an incredible event. If you take it from a bird’s eye view, the whole event is…all the space is used up. So many fans come and have a great weekend.  

«The only thing I would ever say is that we have to watch ticket prices. I think they’re continuing to rise and the cost of living nowadays, I think it’s too high. 

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

«I’m just thinking from the perspective of a fan that would come with a family. It’s hugely expensive, so I think it’s looking into ways where you can make better accessibility for people.»

Max Verstappen hit back at that suggestion, stating that any failure to sell tickets was on the shoulders of the promoter alone.

«I don’t think it’s my fault. I mean, the F1 season is very exciting. There are a lot of teams fighting for wins now,» Verstappen countered.

«And if a promoter can’t fill the seats and they blame it on someone, then I think they first have to look at themselves, what they’re doing wrong. Because in other places it’s quite easy to fill.»



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How Mercedes tamed its troublesome W15 F1 car

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Mercedes started the season with a W15 that proved a tricky beast for both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

With the team having no immediate answer about how best to get its car to perform in both high and low-speed corners, much of the early season effort was in getting to the bottom of the issues at stake.

But as it finally unlocked what it needed to do, its factory was moved on to a war footing to deliver update packages that have helped transform its performance envelope and resulted in its first non-sprint podium of the season in Canada.

While there has been much focus on the new front wing that first made an appearance in Monaco, the start of how Mercedes turned things around actually goes back to a few races before.

In fact, aside from a small alteration to the halo fairing and the aerodynamic furniture attached that arrived in China, the first big batch of new parts arrived at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Miami developments

This update package for Miami included some track-specific modifications to aid the drivers and engineers in finding a more appropriate set-up for the challenges posed.

There was also a trimmed front wing, a modification to the angle of the front track rod and a larger louvred panel for cooling on the side of the engine cover.

Mercedes W15 floors comparison, Miami GP

Mercedes W15 floors comparison, Miami GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

More importantly, though, the floor and edge wing had been fettled as part of a longer-term plan to improve the W15’s performance and ability to deal with fluctuating ride heights.

At this stage, we were unable to appreciate the scope of the changes made to the underfloor, as it was hidden away out of sight.

But, given there was visible change on the upper surfaces, there was undoubtedly a considerable amount of work that had been undertaken to improve the geometries beneath.

Allied to this were the changes to the edge wing, which saw the number of strakes housed within the upturned section at the front of the assembly increased from two to five, while their size and geometries were also altered to match the increase in camber the element had received.

These dimensional alterations also resulted in changes to the position, size and shape of the bracketry holding the edge wing to the floor, to account for the change in loads, while the tail section of the surface was also minimally adjusted too.

Imola’s new parts exploited an old idea

Mercedes W15 rear wing Imola comparison

Mercedes W15 rear wing Imola comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The second stage of updates came just a race later, at Imola, with the team once again fulfilling the circuit characteristic objectives within its race-by-race update programme, while also delivering another set of new parts for the floor.

Interestingly, Mercedes introduced a new rear wing at Imola that saw the Brackley-based outfit circle back on itself in terms of development.

After all, Mercedes had initially followed a branch in the development tree seen on the Aston Martin in Monaco, last season, with its 2023 W14 sporting a similar outboard semi-detached tip section layout.

However, the W15 first appeared with a solution that had formed on the other side of the tree, with Alpine first sporting the more well-known semi-detached variant, whereby the lower portion of the surface left the tip exposed.

Mercedes’ Imola version could be considered a new idea in its own right though, as it really takes inspiration from the development we’ve seen from both of the solutions so far.

Most of the teams following Alpine’s example have started to stretch the tip section down over the mainplane, invoking a different level of performance from the interaction of the surfaces around it, such as the mainplane, the rear endplate cutout and the tip section itself, which have also been optimised to suit.

Combining this with the outboard mounting position seen in the Aston Martin lineage of designs, of which Mercedes was one itself, has perhaps given the team more leverage with which to push the geometries of the aforementioned surfaces that work together in this region, leading to an upturn in performance all-round.

It’s clear that this generation of wing is now part of the team’s design DNA going forward too, as Mercedes followed up its arrival at Imola with a higher downforce variant in Monaco a week later.

Mercedes F1 W15 rear detail

Mercedes F1 W15 rear detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes also introduced a new bi-plane beam wing arrangement into its arsenal in Imola, in order that it could find the right efficiency balance between downforce and drag.

The second part of its three-pronged floor update, which was introduced at Imola, concentrated on the floor fences, with their alignment and shape slightly altered to take advantage of the floor volume alterations made at the previous round.

The majority of the alterations were made to the above tide fence (blue arrow, below), albeit the section that was stitched into the pre-existing fence is out of shot.

The new front wing and floor for Monaco

Mercedes W15 floor

Mercedes W15 floor

Photo by: Uncredited

The update introduced at Monaco was more focused on the floor’s leading edge, as the team followed a development we’ve seen from the likes of Red Bull in the past, whereby it uses a blister on the side of the chassis to pack out the region and alter the lateral position of where the floor begins.

Obviously, this has an impact above the floor’s tide line and beneath, with the airflow’s passage into the sidepod undercut region and the tunnel interface below, both affected.

These alterations not only aligned with the modifications made to the floor in the previous two rounds, but they were also amplified by the introduction of an entirely new front wing layout that arrived in Monaco too.

The team only had one wring ready for Monaco, with Russell granted access to it for that event and then both drivers had it at their disposal in Canada.

Mercedes W15 front wing Monaco GP comparison 059-24-MERCEDES-FRONT-WING-MONACO-COMPARISON

Mercedes W15 front wing Monaco GP comparison 059-24-MERCEDES-FRONT-WING-MONACO-COMPARISON

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The new front wing has a completely different layout when compared with the outgoing design, with the most noticeable difference being the abandonment of the very slender upper flap at the inboard end of the wing.

This decision is further crystallised by a switch to a narrower inboard section, while the moveable section of the two upper flaps has been increased in width.

This obviously shifts the performance envelope of the wing at a given flap angle and also results in the flaps being redesigned as a consequence.

Additionally, the flaps’ change in span-wise distribution has led to alterations to the shape of the nose and to the curved central portion of the wing (red line), which also requires the outboard section of the wing to be rebalanced.

The upwardly curved and arc-shaped leading edge mainplane (yellow highlight) has also been rescinded, as the endplate and the flap juncture have also been re-imagined.

Mercedes W15 front wing endplate juncture comparison

Mercedes W15 front wing endplate juncture comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The team now has three of the four elements with a semi-detached layout in the juncture, as the mainplane is much shallower than before.

This gives more priority to the second element, while the two rearward elements have been adjusted to work in conjunction with it to help generate the desired outwash effect.

The flap tips and juncture are further assisted in this endeavour by the inboard-mounted hook winglet (red arrow), which is similar in approach to the one used by Haas this season.

While there were no further updates to the front wing or floor in Canada, the team still looked to unlock aerodynamic enhancements, with alterations made to the front suspension fairings that act as one of the intermediaries between those two regions.

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This is far from the end of the trail for Mercedes either, as it is bullish about its eventual return to the front of the pack, with technical director James Allison suggesting that the team is going to continue to deliver updates for the W15 over the next few races: «Our challenge is just to keep those upgrades arriving at a pace that the others cannot keep up with.

«In doing that, just bullying our car to the front by virtue of the effort made by everybody here over the coming weeks and months to get the car so that it can have its Montreal weekend or better at any track that we face in the future.»



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