Mercedes AMG F1 W15, driven by Lewis Hamilton from 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 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 in sixth place and Russell in eighth place during the main race. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director, stated that the upgrade went as expected and further improvements are planned for the next race in Imola. However, Shovlin admitted that the impact of these upgrades may be limited until the team resolves the inconsistent behavior displayed by the W15. In a post-race debriefing video, Shovlin mentioned that half of the upgrade kit was taken 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 of the revised floor, the team faces challenges as other teams, such as McLaren, have made significant progress with their own upgrades. Additionally, handling issues faced 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 resolve this issue, we will always be hampering the advantages that can be gained with this type of upgrade.
“However, following the recent races, we now have a clear understanding of the adjustments needed to improve the vehicle’s maneuverability for the drivers, ensuring that it responds to their commands during crucial qualifying laps.
“We also have a promising series of updates scheduled for the next three or four races.
“A tremendous amount of effort is being dedicated to this endeavor, and we hope to see positive results soon.”
Russell, who was puzzled by his lack of competitiveness in Miami, revealed that Mercedes had “gone too far” in compensating for the deficiencies of their previous models.
“The truth is that the stopwatch doesn’t lie, and we recognize that some of the modifications we made since the end of last year may have been excessive in response to certain development aspects,” he clarified.
“Currently, we are facing a different set of limitations with the car compared to this time last year.
“We have invested significant efforts in resolving these issues, but it seems we have veered too far in that direction.
“We are fully aware of the need for rapid and substantial improvements.”
