Mercedes AMG F1 W15, driven by Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain, participated in the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 6, Miami Grand Prix, held in Miami, Florida, USA, on May 3, 2024. The team has acknowledged that the challenges faced by the drivers with the W15 car are diminishing the advantages of the upgrades implemented this year. Despite introducing a revised floor at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes had a disappointing performance. In the Sprint race, no points were scored, with Hamilton finishing sixth and Russell in eighth place during the grand prix. Andrew Shovlin, the Trackside Engineering Director of Mercedes, stated that the update performed as expected and more enhancements are planned for the upcoming race at Imola. However, Shovlin admitted that the impact of these upgrades may be limited until the team resolves the inconsistent behavior exhibited by the W15. In a post-race debrief video, Shovlin mentioned that half of the update kit was brought to Miami, while the remaining half will arrive in Imola. Mercedes is dedicated to continuously developing their car for future races. Despite the expected performance from the revised floor, the team faces challenges as other teams, such as McLaren, have made significant progress with their own upgrades. Additionally, the handling issues experienced by the drivers are hindering the full realization of the car’s performance potential.
“What we often observe is that the vehicle can exhibit varying behavior from one session to another.
“Until we address this issue, we will always hinder the advantages that can be derived from these types of updates.
“However, after the recent races, we now have a clear understanding of the necessary adjustments to enhance the vehicle’s maneuverability for the drivers, ensuring it responds to their commands during crucial qualifying laps.
“We also have a promising series of updates scheduled for the upcoming three or four races.
“A tremendous amount of effort is being dedicated to this endeavor, and we hope to witness the positive outcomes soon.”
Russell, who was perplexed by his lack of competitiveness in Miami, disclosed that Mercedes has gone “too far” in compensating for the shortcomings of its previous models.
“The truth is that the stopwatch doesn’t deceive, and we acknowledge that some of the modifications we made since the conclusion of last year may have been excessive in response to certain development aspects,” he clarified.
“We are currently facing a different set of limitations with the car compared to this time last year.
“We invested significant effort in resolving these issues, but it seems we have veered too much in that direction.
“We are fully aware of the need for rapid and substantial improvements.”