The 2024 Formula 1 championship isn’t going as well as Mercedes had hoped. Their updated W15 car isn’t delivering the expected lap times.
George Russell talked about facing difficulties, especially when following other cars. He mentioned that even his helmet was getting buffeted due to the turbulence created by the vehicle ahead.
“This has been a recurring issue this year,” Russell said. “In practice and qualifying, helmet problems weren’t there, but during the race, with all the turbulence and cars around, there are a lot of buffeting and struggles in this aspect. Cars are harder to follow now compared to before.”
F1 had hoped to solve this problem with the 2022 regulations, but it persists. Mercedes’ James Allison acknowledged that while F1 hadn’t necessarily failed, there were aspects of the regulations that weren’t helpful.
Although there weren’t significant technical changes in this year’s rules, dealing with turbulence seems to be a bigger challenge for following cars this season.
Pirelli’s Mario Isola stressed the importance of the trailing car being able to overtake and get ahead of rivals quickly. He noted that due to the new aero packages developed by teams, following cars experience turbulence, resulting in loss of downforce. This affects performance, especially on fast and flowing tracks like the Japanese GP.
Russell’s best result so far in the 2024 F1 championship is fifth place, and Mercedes currently sits at 34 points in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing Red Bull by 107 points.
