The new Mercedes is bouncing again: Although the problem with the W15 should not be comparable to porpoising, George Russell still sees a need for action
Is the bouncing problem back at Mercedes? At least that’s what George Russell says is currently the main problem with the new W15. “The area we still need to work on is probably the bouncing we’re seeing,” says the Englishman. “We had a bit of bouncing last week. “
However, it should not be quite as bad as two years ago, when Mercedes had major problems with the porpoising phenomenon. “We pushed the car very aggressively. But this year we’re dealing with a completely different beast, whereas 2022 and 2023 were carved out of similar wood.”
The W15 actually seems to have much better handling than its predecessors and has been praised by the drivers for this. “I would say this year’s car is a completely different race car,” says Russell. “It feels much more like a race car should feel.”
The bouncing Russell is referring to relates to braking stability and not the phenomenon of porpoising at the end of the straights and in the corners that Mercedes became unwillingly famous for in the 2022 season with the W13’s Zeropod.
During pre-season testing, it was observed that Mercedes was one of the cars that bounced the most on the front axle under braking at the tight, downhill Turn 8 in Bahrain.
Russell says that Mercedes “always pushes the limits” and “pushes the limits of the car”.
The Englishman continues: “That’s what testing is for. I would like to see a lot less of that this weekend. “
“Even after three years, I think a lot of teams still go to this track and set the car up too low and aggressively,” said Russell. “But it’s always a fine line because that’s where the downforce is.”
When asked if he has confidence in Mercedes’ upgrade plan for 2024 given the initial problems with the W15, Russell also says that his team lacks downforce.
“I’m confident that the development difference on this car should be greater than the last two cars because we have a better platform,” he stresses. “But it’s just the pure performance that the car lacks. The car drives well, it feels good. But we just don’t have the downforce. “
Hamilton: “Not where we want to be “
Teammate Lewis Hamilton expressed similar sentiments in the press conference on Wednesday ahead of the season opener in Bahrain: “We know we still have work to do and we’re not where we want to be yet,” said the Briton.
“We have a better base to build on this year, but we still have some issues to work on and it’s not perfect. But it’s definitely a better starting position than the last two years. So in that respect we are relatively happy,” says Hamilton.
“We’re not where we want to be yet – to compete with these guys at the front – but we’ll work on it. “
No more confidence in Mercedes?
Hamilton was also asked to respond to a sentence Russell uttered in the latest season of the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”. In it, the young Briton explains that a change of Hamilton (which was not yet certain at the time) would mean that Hamilton had lost faith in the team.
However, Hamilton firmly rejects this after the announcement of his switch to Ferrari: “No, it honestly wasn’t that,” he emphasizes. “I really believe that this team will win another championship.”
“It’s an incredible bunch of people and it’s really well run. Mercedes has an incredible history and from the board downwards there is investment in racing and in so many areas,” he says.
“Whether I win the championship with this car or not will have no bearing on how I feel about the next phase of my career.”
“It’s a new chapter in my life and I really feel like I’ve done everything I could with this team. At the end of my career, I love challenges and this really is the ultimate challenge,” said Hamilton.
“Moving to a team that is an incredible icon and has an incredible history, but hasn’t been as successful as they had hoped over the last ten years. They look very strong this weekend and that’s good for them. My goal is to beat them this year, and then of course that changes for next year. “
