The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team is entering its last season with their star, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, after a shocking announcement at the beginning of February that he would be moving to Ferrari. After signing a two-year contract with the team in 2023, Hamilton activated his exit clause at the beginning of the year and signed a multiyear deal with Scuderia Ferrari starting in 2025. After 11 years together, six Driver’s Championships and seven Constructors, Mercedes bid farewell to their most successful driver who is seeking better results elsewhere following two mediocre seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Mercedes launched the W15 on Feb. 14 in a live stream just days after it was announced that Hamilton would leave the team. The car has a perfect farewell design for their driver, being a mix of their iconic silver arrows livery with the black they adopted at his urging in 2020 as a statement against racism. With black sides that are miraculously painted, not just exposed carbon fiber and a silver nose, Mercedes has rolled out a very attractive car, which also features highlights in their signature Tiffany Green.
The team just barely managed to secure second place in the 2023 Constructor Standings ahead of Ferrari, walking away with seven podium finishes between their two drivers and less than half the points of the winning team Red Bull Racing. For a team that dominated the F1 scene in the 2010s, their current situation is embarrassing for the team and frustrating for fans, especially those invested in seeing Hamilton win an eighth World Championship and finally break the record he currently shares with racing legend Michael Schumacher.
The upcoming season is Mercedes last chance to give Hamilton a race-winning car before he jumps ship and is second-driver George Russell’s last chance to learn from his teammate. Who will occupy Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes next year remains a mystery, with there being a lot of interested drivers with expiring contracts at the end of 2024. Their biggest innovation to restore their name is their new front-wing design, deemed legal by the FIA after being put under scrutiny, which is intended to provide more downforce.
Team Principal and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff is most likely aware that beating Red Bull is not a realistic or immediate goal, but the team remains ambitious. Their goal with the W15 is to have a reliable, consistent car that will not battle the drivers at every turn, announcing improvements in driveability and performance, namely their pit stops, which were shamefully slow last year for such an iconic team. They have redesigned their side pods, replaced the rear suspension with a pushrod system, and moved the cockpit’s position backward which Hamilton recommended in early 2022 and was ignored.
After two consecutive years of disappointment for Mercedes, fans can only hope that the team has improved and will take the fight to Red Bull at last. And with the question of who will replace Hamilton, it will be an intriguing year ahead for the team.
