It has been a hot start to the week for Formula 1. Aston Martin kicked off the show on Monday, unveiling a very interesting and extreme AMR24 in terms of some technical solutions at a mechanical and aerodynamic level. Yesterday, it was the turn of the Ferrari SF-24, always one of the most anticipated cars. Ferrari’s car looks more ‘simple’ at first glance, but the important thing will be what the stopwatch says in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the next car unveiled before their 2024 filming session was the McLaren. The MCL38 was revealed this morning and will go on track at Silverstone straight away.
Mercedes will carry out a similar work plan. After unveiling the W15, Mercedes will soon take the car to track for the first time.
Mercedes hopes to end Hamilton’s time at Brackley on a high
Copying is never the right solution, a concept that Mercedes (and Ferrari) kept in mind when developing their single-seaters. The respective philosophies have proven to be unsuccessful and not very developable in the long term.
James Allison returned to his role as technical director and gave a turning point to the team, taking over the W14 and W15 projects, reversing course compared to the zeropod concept.
The results last season were not sensational, but we saw a car grow and give the technicians of the Anglo-German team a basis for the development of this new single-seater.
It is no coincidence that, from the first indications, we noticed some of Mercedes’ solutions on other teams. These include the entrance of the radiator mouth of the MCL38 and also, from the first stolen shots of the RB20, as well as the bonnet with the two channels (cannons) directed to the rear.
The W15 made its first public appearance with a combination of the colours from long-time sponsors Petronas and the return of grey/silver. It will be the last single-seater of the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes combination, a duo that has written history in Formula 1.
Both sides plan to end this winning collaboration in the best possible way before the 7-time Champion moves to Ferrari in 2025.
Alongside George Russell, who will be entrusted with more responsibilities at Toto Wolff’s team, this season will be crucial for the multiple World Champions.
Important technical innovations feature on the W15, including the rear suspension, interesting and extreme in some of its concepts, already revealed by Aston Martin at the beginning of the week.
Author: Paolo D’Alessandro
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
