Mercedes began the season reeling from the news that Lewis Hamilton was swapping his Silver Arrows overalls for red ones in 2025 and – if that wasn’t enough of a blow – their W15 challenger looked to be another hard-to-handle machine. But fast forward to now, and Mercedes are arguably the form team, having won three of the last four races before the summer break. Here’s their 2024 half term report…
Best finish
George Russell – 1st in Austria; Lewis Hamilton – 1st in Britain and Belgium
The Brackley squad’s end to the first half of the year has been nothing short of sensational, winning three of the last four races (they could have had a 1-2 in there as well had George Russell not been disqualified in Belgium for an underweight car, with Hamilton inheriting the victory).
TECH WEEKLY: How Mercedes finally unlocked the secrets of the ground effect regulations
But what has been most impressive is that their triumphs at Silverstone and Spa were totally on merit – Russell’s win in Austria being the exception to that rule after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris came to blows late on in the race.
This recent success hinges on the upgrades the team have brought to the W15. In the words of F1.com tech contributor Mark Hughes, the Silver Arrows “finally seem to have unlocked the secrets of the ground effect regulations”.
This is more of an ‘oh God, how could we have been so dumb?!’ type moment, where you see the path forward and you should have seen it sooner!” Allison told F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast. Well they’re certainly reaping the rewards now.
