Mercedes breaks down their ‘ambitious targets’ for 2024

Mercedes is fully focussed a the development of W15 so that they can give a formidable challenge to Red Bull in 2024.

Mercedes breaks down their ‘ambitious targets’ for 2024

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Via IMAGO)

Mercedes dominated the F1 in every way possible for seven straight years from 2014 to 2020. Other than the occasional challenge from Red Bull and Ferrari, no team could give a significant challenge to the team. But since Lewis Hamilton lost the title to Max Verstappen in 2021 and the new regulation introduced in 2022, the team hasn’t come close to replicating the same level of performance.

Last year, Mercedes finished as the third-best team, scoring a sole win. In 2023, although there is an increase in overall performance, a win in the W14 seems to be an unfulfillable dream. The current challenger, designed by John Owen. doesn’t have enough stability to compete with the RB19 of Red Bull. Insufficient downforce when entering into high-speed corners is one of its major weaknesses.

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Toto Wolff’s team needs to up their game in 2024 to challenge Red Bull for the title. Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, has confirmed the team’s determination to achieve “remarkable improvements” in their performance for the season of 2024. He pointed out that numerous projects are in development, and if successful, they can propel them to success.

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“Whether or not we can solve all the issues that we’ve got on the handling, that will depend on a number of projects delivering. Those projects are underway. They are not complete, but we have got some good directions to try and improve that,” Shovlin told Sky Sports at Suzuka.

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Mercedes is in a high-octane battle with Ferrari for the constructor’s championship P2

As the season nears its end, Ferrari is closing in on Mercedes in the constructor’s championship and challenging them for the 2nd position. The team must remain on its toes, continuously working on the car to enhance and improve its performance. They need crucial upgrades to deter further any potential risks of losing ground to Ferrari. Moreover, the upgrades help the team to gain additional information for the coming seasons.

Formel 1 GP Spa Francorchamps/ Belgien. Sonntag, 30.07.2023 Lewis Hamilton und Carlos Sainz; Formel 1 GP Spa Francorcham
Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Via IMAGO)

Mercedes is clinging to a mere 20-point lead against Ferrari, and it seems that whatever upgrades Mercedes brings might be working in their favor. Although, it’s worth noting that before the summer break, there was a point difference of 56 between the two teams. Yet Mercedes has proved that they will fight till the end and shall not let Ferrari pass.

Shovlin accepted their shortcomings and claims that they are actively working on bringing about updates and changes to the current W14, which holds the potential to provide valuable insights for the development of the W15 next year. He said, “We are very open-minded. We’ve had a pretty chastening couple of years, and we are a team that’s working very hard to try and get back to the front.”

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