Mercedes had one goal in mind for the 2024 F1 season.
Give drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell a consistent race car all season long.
Ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that the team had achieved its goals based on the results of pre-season testing in Bahrain last week.
The team will now actually take the W15, its challenger for the 2024 season, to the track. This will allow Mercedes, as well as the rest of the grid, to know whether their work has really achieved their goals.
“In each of the past two seasons, we have come into the first race of the year on the back foot. The W13 and W14 had inherent goodness, but were often too difficult to unlock. . They were an inconsistent car,” Wolff said at the team’s media preview for the Bahrain Grand Prix. “Our main goal for 2024 was therefore clear: to create a consistent and stable platform. A car that reacts predictably. Something that the driver can push consistently. And , something we can develop throughout the year knowing we are bringing real-world performance to our trucks.”
After pre-season testing, Russell and Hamilton praised the W15. “We recognize that we need to find more lap times. We knew that would happen before the test, but Red Bull looks very strong again. Still, much more than 12 months ago. I’m sure we’re in a good place,” Russell said after the test. “The Brackley and Brixworth teams have done a great job getting us into this position with a car that is a step in the right direction. We need to focus on making the most of the package we have and secondly, adding downforce to close the gap.”
After the second day of testing, Hamilton added: “This year’s car has definitely improved and is much easier to drive.” “Of course we still need progress. But this is a good foundation for us to develop further.”
For the Mercedes boss, the results of pre-season testing show the team is on the right track with the W15 and has a “good foundation” for the season. “Through the first two races we will be able to understand better the work we have done. However, after pre-season testing we can draw some first conclusions. Drivers We are very happy with the overall balance,” Wolff added in his team preview. “The basic platform is working as expected. The correlation with our simulations appears to be accurate. This is all encouraging. It’s a good foundation we can build on. .”
Wolff admitted there is a big gap between Red Bull and Mercedes. Still, team principals, like the rest of the team, are focused on filling that gap.
“Our focus in testing was to learn about the car we have. Our attention now turns to performance tuning for the Bahrain race weekend. As expected, “Red Bull seems to be leading the way in this area,” Wolff said. “The chasing pack looks tight. We’ll soon find out where we fit in it. And our task is to close the gap to the front.”
Mercedes will get the first crack at closing that gap in Thursday’s dual practice session.
