Mercedes expects to implement “significant” changes on its 2025 car although its contender’s basic architecture will remain unchanged amid F1's stable regulatory landscape.
The Brackley-based team has endured a challenging couple of years adapting to the new ground effect regulations, but recent strong form – with three wins in the last four races – has provided a foundation for future evolution.
While the team has made significant strides in rectifying its initial concept flaws, Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin emphasized the need for a cautious approach to development for 2025 given the financial constraints imposed by the cost cap.
"We haven’t made decisions yet on does the chassis stay the same? Does the gearbox stay the same?” he explained.
“The reality is you probably can’t change everything. We’re at a stage now where we’re trying to evaluate those to look for the best return for your spend in the cost cap.”
Shovlin confirmed however that substantial modifications are planned for Mercedes’ W16 car.
“I think, aerodynamically, our car and most people’s cars will be an evolution of what we have today," he said. "
“There’ll be significant changes on there but you won’t want to change the architecture of the car and take a big hit in the wind tunnel that you then have to recover.
“I don’t think many people will be doing that.”
Despite its recent performance turnaround and its subsequent successes, underlying weaknesses remain embedded in the German outfit’s current design.
"The main remaining weaknesses – in hot conditions at rear-limited circuits, we’re not as good as the McLarens, or Max [Verstappen’s Red Bull]," he admitted.
"We saw that in Budapest, and we saw that in Austria, but our gap on race pace in Budapest was smaller.
"We’ve made progress there over the sequence of these recent races. If you looked at Silverstone, we were competitive," Shovlin added.
"So I think the main weakness is that, but then everyone’s trying to develop their cars. If you’re not developing at a faster rate than the others, then you will quite quickly slip backward.
“So there’s always going to be a focus on just how much development you can bring.”
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
The intense competition in Formula 1 means that development is a constant battle. Mercedes is determined to maintain its momentum and continue to find performance gains.
“We can only see a month or six weeks into the future because that’s the sort of horizon that you’re working with in your wind tunnel,” Shovlin explained.
“What we don’t know is whether will we be able to keep delivering performance from the wind tunnel, from a vehicle dynamics group, and mechanical design group.”
As usual, balancing the demands of the current season with preparations for the next represents a significant challenge.
"We will continue at the factory to find as much performance as we can," Shovlin confirmed. "So that is what you are calling aggressive development, we’re flat-out trying to find performance."
“Later on in the year, there have to be discussions around ‘Is it this car or does it wait for the next car?’”
And Formula 1’s cost cap adds another layer of complexity to the development equation.
“The cost cap inevitably means that those discussions are a trade between performance gain and cost,” explained the British engineer.
“We do want to be fighting at the front next year. So we’re always going to make decisions that mean that that is a possibility.”
The road to recovery for Mercedes has been arduous, but the team's determination to rectify its mistakes and capitalize on its recent momentum is evident. With a significant car overhaul planned for 2025, the team hopes to establish itself as a consistent title contender once again.
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