Mercedes unveil ‘complete relaunch’ W15 car for Hamilton’s final season

Mercedes have gone down new development path with ‘zero-sidepod’ concept dropped in favour of a solution akin to that pioneered by Red Bull

Toto Wolff says the new Mercedes challenger is a “complete relaunch” and there are positive signs it could be “fast”. But he admitted only time would tell whether they have given Lewis Hamilton a machine capable of challenging for race wins in his final season with the team.
Mercedes decided they needed a complete rethink of their core car philosophy after a poor start to last season. The Brackley team had entered 2023 hoping to have solved the fundamental issues they experienced in 2022, the first season of new regulations. But when the W14 proved just as troublesome as the W13, they decided to cut their losses and head down a different development path.
The W15, which was unveiled on Wednesday by Wolff and drivers Hamilton and George Russell ahead of its shakedown at Silverstone, looks different to its predecessors, with the so-called ‘zero-sidepod’ concept dropped in favour of a solution akin to that pioneered by champions Red Bull.
Wolff said the major changes, though, were ‘underneath the bonnet’.
“This is a complete relaunch of a car,” the Austrian noted. “It is very different, not only on the aerodynamic surfaces but mainly underneath. There are so many mechanical changes we have done which we hope will transfer into more predictability, a car the drivers can really push. We’ll see next week in Bahrain.”
Pre-season testing takes place in the Gulf kingdom next week from February 21-23, with the opening race of the season, also in Bahrain, on March 2.
Wolff’s reference to ‘predictability’ is significant. Mercedes’ major issue over the last two years has been the lack of correlation between what they saw in the virtual and what actually occurred out on the race track.
Wolff, who recently signed a new three-year deal to stay on as team principal and chief executive, said the team had asked a lot of hard questions of themselves, and were fired up to take on Red Bull.
“Most important is that you look inward,” he said. “What is it we got wrong? Why did the virtual world not correlate with the real world?
“And we found some clues and tried to eliminate some variables. We know it is difficult and a big mountain to climb because if a team is far ahead like Red Bull was last year it is not easy.
“But we have a superb driver combination, hopefully a fast car and I think there are some very good ingredients to be back at the front again.”
Hitting the track for our first run with W15 😍 pic.twitter.com/6SLK7EOR9y
Hamilton, who heads to Ferrari next year, said it was “emotional” and “surreal” to be heading into his final season with a manufacturer with whom he has spent his entire career, the last 11 of which have been with the Mercedes works team.
“It’s very surreal to be here given I came here in 2013, so 11 years with the team, starting my 12th,” said the 39 year-old.
“The learnings of the past two years have helped us find our direction. It’s enabled us to find our north star. It’s still going to be a work in progress, but we will face whatever challenges present themselves with our heads up, with open minds, and work through diligently.”
Russell, who said he had been unable to sleep for excitement, added: “We have learned so much as a team. There is a fire within. Everyone is so excited and motivated. I’ve got faith it will come.”