F1 News: Insider Warns About "Big Worry" For Mercedes - "Running Around In Circles"
Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert evaluated Mercedes' performance during the ground effect era since 2022 and expressed serious concerns that the team has been making minimal progress and essentially going in circles.
Key Takeaways:
- Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert expressed concern about Mercedes' lack of progress during the ground effect era, noting recurring issues despite efforts to address them.
- Herbert highlighted that while teams like Ferrari and McLaren have shown improvement, Mercedes has struggled to make significant strides forward.
- With Lewis Hamilton departing next year and further regulation changes looming, there are doubts about Mercedes' ability to turn their fortunes around in the near future.
Formula 1 encompasses not only on-track competition but also a technological race among teams, and it appears that Mercedes has been falling behind in the quest to develop a championship-winning car since 2022.
Last year, the team pinpointed areas of concern that it aimed to address with an entirely new car during the winter break. However, looking ahead to 2024, familiar issues from the ground effect era still occasionally surface with the W15. Additionally, the team appears to be grappling with a lack of pace for which they have yet to find solutions.
Thus, feeling that Mercedes's problems are taking it nowhere, Herbert told RacingNews365:
"It's very weird.
"I've looked at what they've done over the last two years.
"When they first came up with their original concept [the 'zeropod'] a couple of years ago I thought 'I like that'. It was really tightly packaged, looked racy, looked really good, but, of course, it was bouncing all over the place.
"They reduced that a little bit, then they got to the end of the year, and they said 'Yeah, we know what we need to fix the car', but it came out of the blocks and stumbled again. They had similar issues.
"Then they did the upgrade, which was better. but it still didn't really move them that much further up, just sporadically it sort of improved.
"They went through the winter, and they again said 'We know what we need to do', but they've come out of it, and it's the same. They are literally in the same position, with Lewis saying their problem is (pause) the bouncing again!
"So they haven't been able to get rid of that, and that's a worry, because this is the third season effectively where they haven't got it, they're just running around in circles."
Herbert noted that while teams like Ferrari and McLaren have shown improvement from last year, Mercedes has yet to demonstrate positive progress. Additionally, with Lewis Hamilton set to depart from the team next year and further regulation changes on the horizon, Mercedes may need to step up their game soon. He added:
"It's quite a worry whether Mercedes will be able to turn it around in the future, and maybe that's 2026.
"That's the only saving grace, that there's a big change, and it might benefit them that way.
"But if you do look at these, let's say three years this year, it's not good and there must be a big worry there.
"They're also losing Lewis, who has a good ability to explain what the problem is. They've adapted a certain amount of things, but they still haven't been able to turn it around.
"It's a worry for them because everybody else is getting better, like Ferrari, who have improved. The McLaren is better than it started last year, so they've improved, yet Mercedes are fighting for, what was it, sixth and ninth (in Saudi Arabia)? That's not what they're looking for.
"Then there's George, who is effectively going to be the one steering them in whatever direction that might be.
"Yes, you've the designers and engineers, and they have their ways of getting the concept out there. And then George has to try and help steer things. After three years, the steering has got them nowhere. It's not a good sign."