After a challenging start to 2024, Lewis Hamilton has significantly improved his form since the Mercedes W15 received the new modifications.
SPA, BELGIUM – JULY 28: On July 28, 2024, in Spa, Belgium, Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain is seen operating the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team F1W15 during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The final race before the summer break was won by Hamilton at Spa
The Brackley group feels that Hamilton has profited more than colleague George Russell from the improvements on the W15.
The German automakers’ 2024 campaign got off to a rough start because of the unreliable W15 and limited setup window.
But as the season has progressed, the team has significantly improved the W15. Due to their differing setups, Hamilton and Russell will be vying for the top spot in the car and race victories.
Three of the previous four races have been won by the Brackley squad. More so than Russell, Hamilton has benefited from the advancement in progress, which has made him more comfortable. Early in the season, the seven-time world champion had more difficulty than his teammate.
Having spent more time acquainting himself with the W15 Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin, he feels that Hamilton’s form has improved significantly since the beginning of the season.
“I believe that at first Lewis might have been having greater trouble controlling the automobile.
Being able to land with a setup in P1 that provides a solid basis to start building on performance and then fine-tuning it is one of the areas where we’ve improved with the car. That greatly enhances your weekend.
We were making very minor adjustments in the beginning of the year when all of a sudden the car’s balance broke and we were having a lot of trouble.
“And, sure, it’s certainly fair to say that Lewis was having more trouble setting up than George in the earlier races.”
SPA, BELGIUM – JULY 28: On July 28, 2024, in Spa, Belgium, during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, George Russell of Great Britain, driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team F1W15, leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain, driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team F1W15.
Since the enhancements were implemented, Hamilton has accumulated more points than Russell
Ground effect automobiles are not a good fit for Hamiton.
In 2022, the ground-effect cars were implemented as a significant regulatory modification. Up until the later half of 2024, Mercedes has failed to contend for race victories and pole positions.
The 39-year-old’s driving style is not suited to the ground-effect cars and tyres, which prevents him from using all of his braking power, as Hamilton and his team are aware.
Shovlin claims that both drivers are asking for the same things from the W15, however Mercedes has been able to extract more speed out of it.
“These tires are best suited for a specific driving style,” he stated. The two drivers are rarely that far apart during setup these days.
Thus, as soon as the car is in a good window, it works fairly well for both of them. In order to determine where the gains are, they also observe each other’s activities in between sessions.
However, the two of them have been collaborating throughout the year. They were able to support one another by trying various setup and driving style experiments early on, since neither of them wanted to end up where we were. As a team, you advance overall, and that is how a two-driver team operates.
In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes is attempting to get closer to the top three teams. The Silver Arrows trail Ferrari in third place by 79 points with 266 points.
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