New reason pinpointed for Mercedes W15 “tale of woe”

A new theory has been suggested for the cause of Mercedes’ issues with the W15.

Their F1 2024 car has not yet shown much reason for Lewis Hamilton or George Russell to be optimistic.

At the F1 Japanese Grand Prix last time out, they finished ninth and seventh with the Red Bulls and Ferraris occupying the first four positions.

Both McLarens were also ahead of Hamilton.

“It keeps happening every single weekend,” F1TV’s Alex Jacques said on the F1 Nation podcast.

“They have sessions and say ‘we are not too discouraged’.

“Then the lights go out and they look nothing like…

“We are used to Mercedes being in this position now which is the disappointing thing for them.

“[The F1 Japanese Grand Prix] was a long, long afternoon. You heard it in the radio messages from George and Lewis - they got flatter, and flatter, and flatter.

“It tells the story of where they are, right now.”

Tom Clarkson then suggested: “I think the tale of woe starts before that.

“It seems that, as soon as they take the fuel out of the car, it starts to go wrong.”

Tom Kristensen, the nine-times Le Mans winner, said: “The car is a diva, it’s on a knife-edge.

“They don’t know what to expect when there is a wind direction change or a temperature change.

“They are on different compounds, as well.

“Every now and again, they perform well, strong, good. Other times they are not, and that frustrates people.

“Toto is trying to lead the gang. He’s trying to show that they need to work hard, stick together, do a good job.

“They are definitely frustrated and looking for hope, looking for answers. Which they don’t get.

“They are a team in trouble at the moment. I don’t know when they will be winning again, or on the podium again.”

Are Mercedes miles away from catching McLaren?

“No,” Jacques insisted. “Because once they get a comprehension of the car, once the correlation is sorted, once they understand the concept, look at how quickly McLaren were able to turn the page last season.

“Once you know the direction to go in…

“Toto said after the race that they are effectively going testing.

“Until they understand it, they can’t push in one direction.

“In that way, they are miles off for the moment. But it’s a world championship calibre team.

“They will understand what’s wrong with the car. And once they do, they will come roaring back towards the end of the year.”