The temperamental nature of the Mercedes W15 was also evident in races in Japan and China this month, as improvements in one key area led to problems in others.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reported earlier this month that they have the best Mercedes cars since 2021, but it came at a price.
His Mercedes W15 proved to be as lively as its predecessor.
The Silver Arrows have been experimenting with setups to maximize their pace this season, but so far there has been little notable success.
Team principal Toto Wolff explained the team’s predicament, citing this month’s races in Japan and China as an example. At Suzuka, Mercedes found itself significantly faster in the high-speed corners. However, it came at a cost, as lower speeds negate the gains made elsewhere. The effort and resources spent on improvements did not result in an overall benefit. Wolff explained: “At high speeds it was very competitive, even from Suzuka to Esse, and it was night and day compared to before.
He said it was the best car ever. “After that, I couldn’t perform at all at low speeds.
That is, at high speeds you gain 0.5 seconds, but at low speeds you lose 0.5 seconds. The equation is back to zero, so we need to improve it. We are beyond comprehension and now we just need to improve. “It’s something that needs to be addressed and we have all the facts on the table. “We know what we have optimized to solve the problem at high speeds and I also know where the car was fast before when driving at low speeds.
” Now all we have to do is screw together a car that does both. ” Watch all his F1 action on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to each Grand Prix race, qualifying and more.
From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, never miss a round on Sky Sports.
