Mercedes have been left confused for years by the current Formula 1 regulations but will hope their performance at the Canadian Grand Prix proves that they’ve finally cracked this ruleset.
George Russell shocked many Formula 1 fans when he took pole position in Montreal and Mercedes came home in third and fourth that weekend with Lewis Hamilton disappointed not to join his teammate on the podium.
Speaking on the Missed Apex Podcast, journalist Matthew Somerfield was talking about the recent developments on the F1 W15.
Despite finishing runners-up to Red Bull last year, it became clear after the first couple of races that Ferrari and McLaren had leapfrogged them in the pecking order.
Toto Wolff’s team have struggled since the start of the 2022 F1 season to fully grasp what’s going wrong and have only achieved one victory since the start of that campaign.
However, Somerfield has identified that Mercedes have gone in a completely new direction with their rear wing and are taking an approach that no other team on the grid is taking.
It might just have helped them close the gap to the rest of the field, although they’ll hope that the Canadian Grand Prix isn’t yet another false dawn.
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Mercedes going on a ‘completely new path’ with their rear wing
Although teams will be keeping one eye on the development of their cars for 2026 with a completely new ruleset on the way, updates are still coming thick and fast this season.
McLaren seem to make a big step forward every time they add a new piece to their car while Ferrari’s 2024 machine looks very well-rounded aside from a blip in Canada.
Unfortunately for Mercedes, their struggles over the last two years have forced Lewis Hamilton to make a career-defining switch to Ferrari next year.
It’s left Mercedes with a problem in trying to replace him although teenager Kimi Antonelli looks to be at the top of their shortlist of realistic replacements.
Both drivers might be starting to get excited about the potential of this year’s Mercedes after holding their own at the very front of the grid in Canada.
Somerfield has explained the impact their rear wing development has had on this, with Mercedes going in such a different direction to the rest of the paddock.
Mercedes still innovating to improve their 2024 F1 car
Talking about the latest Mercedes update, Matthew Somerfield said: “They’ve changed rear wing philosophies.
“We’ve seen them introduce a new rear wing in Imola, they had a version of that for Monaco and it’s all to do with the tip section of the rear wing which we’ve seen a lot of development from different teams on during the course of this regulation set.
“But Mercedes, have opted to go down a completely new path that nobody else has trod before.
“And I think that’s probably where a lot of their gains have happened because now they have what I would consider to be more of a split between high and low downforce arrangements.
“It’s just a massive push from Mercedes, they have made a significant push on the development of this car and that is what has effectively bullied them to the front of the pack.”
Mercedes technical director James Allison has shared another change the team have made in the last three races that have helped them progress up the grid.
It’s worth remembering that Russell beat Max Verstappen in Monaco and the track in Canada couldn’t be any more different to the streets of Monte Carlo.
Toto Wolff will hope that Sunday’s race in Spain proves that they’ve finally cracked the current ruleset once and for all.
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