Mercedes detail ‘very ambitious targets’ for 2024 F1 car with big changes coming
After nearly two full seasons of competitive struggles, Mercedes are set to fundamentally overhaul their car design for 2024 in a bid to get back on level terms with runway F1 leaders Red Bull.
Mercedes’ W14 car has been plagued by handling and balance inconsistencies that have left drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell lacking confidence, particularly in high-speed corners.
Those weaknesses are a major focus in the development of Mercedes’ 2024 challenger.
"We are changing the car quite considerably for next year," Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Shovlin explained at the Japanese Grand Prix.
"Whether or not we can solve all the issues that we've got on the handling, that will depend on a number of projects delivering.
"Those projects are underway. They are not complete, but we have got some good directions to try and improve that.”
Shovlin added: “The car will be different. We have made a lot of changes to it but it's very early in the development of the new car to be able to say we've got it sorted.
"When we launched our best cars, 2015 or 2019, those years, we didn't know they were going to be great cars when we developed them, you are just working as hard as you can trying to find as much performance as you can.
"On a lot of those cars, we missed targets by quite a chunk in terms of performance but what we do know is that if you don't set very ambitious targets, you're probably not setting them high enough.”
Shovlin also confirmed that Mercedes will not be “clinging on to any concepts that we’ve had before”.
That will come as welcome news to seven-time world champion Hamilton, who has been ‘beating the drum’ to his Mercedes team about fixing the problems with their current car.
"I know what the problem is; it's just getting the guys to make the changes,” Hamilton said in Japan. “I try to argue my point but it is not my job to design the car.
"I am hopeful they do the job but it is going to take real changes real quick."
Hamilton paid a visit to see Mercedes' designers during a trip to the factory following the Japanese Grand Prix.
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