Mercedes has had a rather mediocre start to the current F1 season. The team has been struggling under the current ground effect era and has not yet achieved any podium finishes in the races so far. As a result, the team boss and drivers are expressing their disappointment with the performance of their challenger W15. Brackley will introduce updates to the car before the next race in hopes of achieving better results.
Even during the Chinese weekend, Mercedes faced difficulties despite a second place in the Sprint race. The team was conducting experiments with the challenger, which significantly affected its performance. Hamilton even got eliminated from the qualifying session. It is clear that Mercedes is not in a favorable position.
The pace of the W15 during the Shanghai weekend was not sufficient. Wolff stated that Mercedes will make multiple updates to the chassis before the next Miami GP. The 52-year-old believes that Brackley needs to work harder to develop the W15. He also expressed confidence and optimism regarding the upcoming car updates.
Both Hamilton and were experimenting with the challenger in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the experiments did not work out for Hamilton, resulting in a poor performance in the race. Wolff admitted that the team took an overly aggressive approach in the experiments and acknowledged that the chassis updates went too far. It is clear that the car was not fast, as highlighted by Hamilton’s comments. The experiment was not a wise decision for the German constructor.
Taking everything into consideration, Mercedes will learn a lot from the Chinese weekend and use it as a reference for future updates. The team will continue working on the chassis to help Hamilton finish the season on a high note. As things stand, Brackley may even risk losing to McLaren throughout the season, considering Woking’s strong performance.
