Mercedes claims they were ‘DUMB’ to not solving W15 issues ‘sooner’ amidst upturn in performance

Mercedes has so far managed to amass only 96 points in the 2024 Constructors Championship.

Mercedes claims they were ‘DUMB’ to not solving W15 issues ‘sooner’ amidst upturn in performance

Mercedes W15 and James Allison (VIa: Imago)

The Mercedes F1 team has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride during the 2024 F1 season. From shocking lows to now starting to find their feet in the world championship tussle, the Brackley-based team has been on quite a run.

Ahead of the upcoming Spanish GP, its Technical Director, James Allison had an in-detail conversation regarding the W15 challenger. In the same discussion, he revealed how Mercedes had been silly in making certain decisions regarding the car that could’ve been made earlier.

YouTube video

After nine rounds, the outfit has so far amassed only 96 points.

FS Video
Eureka moments are ones where you joyfully understand something that I guess no one has understood before and you've advanced knowledge in the process. That's a very wonderful thing, this is more of an 'Oh God, how could we have been so dumb' type moment, where you see the path forward and you should have seen it sooner.
James Allison said on Beyond the Grid podcast

Looking at the reaction of the Brit, it is quite clear that the whole Brackley-based outfit is quite gutted in taking time around the development of the W15. Since the last few Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have looked strong, and the latter even scored a pole position in Montreal.

Mercedes confident of being ‘competitive’ at all the 2024 F1 circuits

While Allison has admitted Mercedes could have been a bit faster in terms of the development of the W15, he has also oozed immense confidence going ahead. Seeing the work going on within the team, he genuinely feels the outfit can prove extremely competitive at all the remaining races.

Lewis Hamilton and James Allison
Lewis Hamilton and James Allison (Via IMAGO)

Mercedes managed a strong third and fourth-place finish at the Canadian GP.

I think that we definitely can get the car this season to be properly competitive and to fear no tracks. While I'm pretty sure that we will make a good showing in the nearby future races, I'd be surprised if we're on pole at the next one, for example.
James Allison said on the same podcast

The ongoing campaign has still got a long way to go! While Toto Wolff‘s team is currently in fourth place in the Constructors Championship, it can still make up lost ground to the front-running teams. However, in order to do this, they will need to produce consistent performances from the upcoming Spanish GP onwards.

In case you missed it: