Lewis Hamilton has given Mercedes an ultimatum about upgrades regarding the development of their car. He was clearly not impressed by the W14’s progress in Japan and after seeing McLaren’s fight for the podiums, he has become hungry for a better car.
Mercedes had ended their season last year on a high note, after they secured a win following the struggles of their W13. They had high hopes entering 2024 with the notion that they will be able to fight at the front again and take revenge against their arch nemesis, Red Bull. But again, they had to suffer a setback this year.
What upgrades are Mercedes planning for W14?
Mercedes have hinted about some of the upgrades they may add to their car after the disappointing performance that has let down both of their drivers.
“We have upgrades in the pipeline and will continue to be bringing them to the car. There’s plenty of things we can do with the current car which will both make it faster, and aid our learning in understanding to develop next year’s car.”
“The new parts we bring to the track hopefully add performance and make the current car go faster but they’re all specifically targeted around areas we need to further our understanding, directly feeding into the development of the W15.”
The team is building their concepts in line with the future and it looks like the parts they add on the W14 will be the stepping stones for success in W15, as such, it is crucial that the team makes ample amount of progress and gives a lot of time towards understanding the car’s behaviors if they indeed want to get back on the top step.
How will upgrades on W14 aid them to improve W15?
The constructor’s champion has been decided already and the only thing left for Mercedes is to find out their mistakes and learn how to rectify them in order to achieve their lofty goals. The car has low traction in corners and the seating position is a matter of discomfort according to Lewis Hamilton.
Even though, they had managed to win a race last year with Russell’s heroics their car didn’t reap the benefits of all that research. With the strong emphasis Mercedes has been laying on the 2024 car, it is highly necessary that they recognize the shortcomings of their upgrades early and maximize on the performance boosters provided. The car was very competitive in high downforce setup.
This can serve as a platform for understanding the strong points in their car and use it throughout the season instead of particular tracks only.
Do you Mercedes will be able to become a Title contender in 2024.
