Mercedes admits to changing ‘every component’ on W15, claims ‘we have a chance’ in 2024

Mercedes struggled with several issues on their W14 car during the 2023 F1 season.

Mercedes admits to changing ‘every component’ on W15, claims ‘we have a chance’ in 2024

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Via: Imago)

The 2023 Formula 1 season has not brought the kind of results that Mercedes was hoping for. While they have managed to end the campaign as the runners-up behind Red Bull, they were way off the pace that was set by their fellow F1 rivals. Keeping the lackluster performance output of the W14 in view, Mercedes has recently confirmed that they will change every component on their 2024 car.

Toto Wolff and Co. came into this year’s F1 campaign with the hope of becoming a nuisance for the Red Bull F1 team and challenging for the world title. But their push ran out of steam only after the first few rounds and everyone saw how slow they were in comparison to the Austrian outfit.

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2023 was all about damage limitation for them, but with the season done and dusted, Mercedes is optimistic about its 2024 challenger, and Toto Wolff while talking about it, told Motorsport;

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We are changing the concept. We are completely moving away from how we laid out the chassis, the weight distribution, the airflow.

Looking at the reaction of the Mercedes boss, it is quite clear that the Brackley-based team is willing to go all in, in pursuit of producing the best possible machinery for next year.

I mean, literally, there's almost every component that's being changed because only by doing that, I think we have a chance.

Mercedes was in a dog fight with Ferrari in 2023

While Mercedes has shifted its hundred percent attention toward building a lethal weapon for 2024, they were given a run for their money by the Fred Vasseur-led Ferrari F1 team this year. At the end of the campaign, Mercedes was able to keep hold of second place in the Constructors Championship only by a margin of three points.

Fred Vasseur (Credits: The Mirror) and Toto Wolff (Credits: racingnews365)
Fred Vasseur (Credits: The Mirror) and Toto Wolff (Credits: racingnews365)

Charles Leclerc tried his best at the last race of the 2023 F1 season in Abu Dhabi to help his team secure second, but George Russell was there for Mercedes to keep Leclerc’s push in check. The young Brit managed a third-place finish at Abu Dhabi to make sure Mercedes ended up second.

The Toto Wolff-led Mercedes team maximized what they could during the recently concluded F1 season, but for next year, their goal will be to be able to fight for the coveted F1 world championship. Considering this, the winter development of the W15 will be extremely crucial.

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