Mercedes reveal why Lewis Hamilton and George Russell lack confidence in W15

Mercedes suffered another disappointing race weekend in Saudi Arabia that revealed new concerns regarding the W15's handling. Not only is their 2024 challenger lacking in performance, but their drivers also reportedly lack confidence in the new livery due to balance issues.

Heading into last weekend's race in Jeddah, there was optimism that Mercedes could put together a strong weekend. The German outfit had suffered reliability issues in the previous race in Bahrain, which, according to the paddock consensus, cost the team a podium chance.

Unfortunately for Toto Wolff and his personnel, a more fundamental problem impacted their performance in Saudi Arabia. The lack of downforce on the W15 was especially punishing in such a demanding street circuit.

The Silver Arrows suffered from a combination of new and old limitations.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, explained some of these in Mercedes' Saudi GP Race Debrief:

"It’s a few things. One of them was the balance wasn't great," he said at 8:45 in the video from the Mercedes channel.

"So those very fast corners, the walls aren't particularly far away - so the ones [corners] where the driver wants a lot of confidence."

"And quite often we were snapping to oversteer if they really leant on the tyres."

Although the 2024 F1 season is barely underway, these quotes will be concerning for Mercedes. After all, the last three years have not inspired confidence in their understanding of the current F1 regulations.

Of additional concern is that rivals like Ferrari and McLaren are in the ascendancy. The Italian outfit has started this year comfortably ahead of their German rivals - thanks to a far more predictable SF-24.

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Mercedes F1 outline major concerns

Drivability was one of Mercedes' biggest issues last season, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both vocal about the W14's limitations.

Despite a complete overhaul for this season, there are still lingering issues with the W15's characteristics.

Another concern for the team is the return of bouncing, which Andrew Shovlin explains is especially significant in qualifying:

"You can easily imagine how unsettling that is for the drivers. Now, that was a factor in qualifying and the race," [9:12].

"In qualifying, we were also suffering a bit with the bouncing."

It would be inaccurate to say Mercedes F1 cannot recover from this deficit, as the W15 has shown glimpses of potential, albeit in slightly less representative practice sessions.

Regardless, James Allison's technical team still has time to optimize and improve their existing foundations.

Of course, progress in Formula 1 is relative. Several teams are now fighting for the upper positions, giving the Brackley-based team little margin for error.

They cannot afford to lose much more ground if they are to realistically fight for race victories before 2026.