Mercedes affirms W15’s stellar performance ‘not a breakthrough’

Entering the F1 summer break, Mercedes enjoyed a strong run securing three wins in the last four races. George Russell clinched victory in the Austrian GP, while Lewis Hamilton triumphed in Great Britain and Belgium. This success followed a series of upgrades around the Monaco GP that improved the car’s balance.

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin suggested that the recent success wasn’t due to a single dramatic change. He believed that the car had always shown potential to be fast on some of the days. While they didn’t experience a sudden transformation, they knew the car had the ability to perform well under the right conditions. Shovlin highlighted that the recent fruits of their work were more about finally realizing the car’s potential. This wasn’t about discovering a new, groundbreaking improvement.

It wasn't so much a breakthrough moment. I think we always thought this car, on its day, it seems to be quick.

Andrew Shovlin said, as reported by Motorsport

Andrew Shovlin explained that earlier in the season, it was difficult for Mercedes to keep the car performing well throughout the entire weekend. The main challenge was to maintain good performance from practice sessions to the race. However, now the car has become much more consistent, making it easier for the team to use it effectively across all parts of the weekend.

But being able to do that across the whole weekend was a bit of a challenge for us in the early part of the year. It's now more useable.

Andrew Shovlin added.

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Andrew Shovlin admits Mercedes was ‘surprised’ by poor performance early on in 2024

Shovlin explained that Mercedes was initially surprised by how slow their car was at the beginning of the season. They had believed they had designed a good car and that it had the potential to perform well. However, they encountered some problems that they needed to fix. After working hard to address those issues, they were able to witness positive results from their efforts.

We were surprised we weren't quicker at the start. We thought we'd made a good car, and underneath it was a good car. It just had some problems that we had to get on top of. Now we're seeing the result of that hard work

Andrew Shovlin stated

Presently, Mercedes sits fourth in the constructors’ standings and began showing improvements before the summer break. As the season resumes, fans expect the team to continue their strong performance from the last four races and secure more victories.

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