Mercedes simulator driver and ex-Formula 1 pilot Anthony Davidson is pleased with the initial feel of the team’s 2024 car, with the Briton having driven it in the simulator.
The positive news was shared by team principal Toto Wolff, who has extended his contract by three seasons, taking him to the end of 2026 as Mercedes’ boss.
According to Wolff, Davidson told him that Mercedes’ 2024 car – the W15 – actually “feels like a car”, something it hasn’t done since the current aerodynamic regulations were introduced in 2022.
Mercedes are yet to truly adapt to the current regulations, with their dominance having been abruptly ended by the regulations which came into effect two seasons ago.
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Since the start of 2022, the Silver Arrows have claimed just one victory, courtesy of George Russell at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton hasn’t won a race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; however, he clearly believes that Mercedes can turn things around in 2024, as he signed a two-year extension last summer.
Davidson’s positive comments about the W15 will delight the seven-time World Champion, with Wolff already being very happy by the discovery that an improvement appears to have been made.
“He was driving Melbourne [in the sim],” said Wolff of Davidson to The Telegraph.
“And he said: ‘The car feels like a car for the first time in two years…’”
Whilst Davidson’s feedback suggest that a better season is on the horizon for Mercedes, Wolff isn’t letting the team get too far ahead of themselves.
The Austrian knows that a positive response in the simulator doesn’t always “correlate to the track”, with this having been the case in 2022 and 2023.
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Because of that, Wolff is keeping his feet firmly on the ground, although he admits that he “would love” for the W15 to be as good on the track come Bahrain as it seemingly is in the simulator.
If the Brackley-based outfit struggle at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, then there will likely be a sense of deja vu amongst the camp.
“Obviously I would love this to correlate to the track, but we’ve seen in the last two years that this was not always the case,” Wolff admitted.