George Russell, British driver of the Mercedes AMG F1 team, caused a stir during the Formula 1 tests in Sakhir, Bahrain, on February 21, 2024. Russell expressed that Mercedes has a stronger foundation to build upon with their 2024 Formula 1 car, but acknowledged that the team still lacks downforce. Mercedes underwent a complete overhaul with the W15 car in an attempt to improve their performance after a few turbulent years, in which they were only able to win one race. The German team abandoned the unsuccessful “zeropod” concept and aims to produce a more adaptable and user-friendly car. Russell gave positive feedback on the changes made by Mercedes during the pre-season, describing the latest machine as less temperamental compared to the previous two years. However, he noted that the phenomenon of “bouncing,” which affected several teams in the early era of ground effect, has reappeared for Mercedes. Despite this setback, Russell believes that Mercedes will overcome this problem more smoothly this time, as the team is pushing the limits and exploring the boundaries of the car during the tests. He hopes that the “bouncing” will be minimized during the upcoming race weekend. Russell also acknowledges that Mercedes needs to unlock more downforce to compete with top teams like Red Bull. However, with the malicious characteristics of the W14 car’s rear, which have now been eliminated, Russell is confident that the engineers can focus on improving performance. He believes that the development of this car will be more significant than the previous two, thanks to the enhanced foundation. However, the team still needs to find more absolute performance, as they are currently lacking downforce.
