Mercedes W15

The Mercedes-AMG F1 W15 E Performance, commonly referred to as the Mercedes W15, is a Formula One racing car designed and built by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team to compete in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. This is the first Mercedes Formula One car fully designed by British designer and engineer James Allison since he returned to his position as Technical Director. The car is driven by returning drivers George Russell and 7-time World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton, in his final season with the team. The car has achieved four podiums, three fastest laps, two pole positions, and two victories, with Russell achieving victory at the Austrian Grand Prix and Hamilton winning the following race at the British Grand Prix.

Background and design
Mercedes finished second in the 2023 season with the W14, behind Red Bull, finishing ahead of Ferrari by 3 points.

Team Principal Toto Wolff stated that the team would change the concept for the W15, including the way they laid out the chassis, weight distribution, and aerodynamics. Wolff added that changing almost all components could give the team its best chance to contend in 2024. Before the off-season break, Hamilton stated the team's mood was "positive", and he checked the team's progress with the W15 in their wind tunnel.

Technical Director James Allison labelled the W15 project as "ambitious" and stated the team had made a lot of progress over the winter. Allison later clarified that the late introduction of sidepods starting from the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix wasn't the main shortcoming in 2023, and added that the W15 would look significantly different from its predecessors. Wolff recounted that the team's simulator driver, Anthony Davidson, tested the W15 in the simulator, driving it in Melbourne and spoke favorably of the results, stating "The car feels like a car for the first time in two years."

The W15 was unveiled at Silverstone Circuit on 14 February. The car sported a mostly bare carbon fibre and black livery, though with a silver nose cone and their title sponsor Petronas's teal as an accent. The car had a different sidepod shape, and the team switched from pull-rod suspension to push-rod suspension. The team focused on resolving W14's unpredictable axle issue. The cockpit position shifted further backward, something that Hamilton has been vocal about starting from their 2022 car. Hamilton and Russell drove in a brief 15 km demo day at Silverstone with the first proper running held as part of their 200 km filming day in Bahrain before pre-season testing commenced.

Pre-season testing
Pre-season testing commenced on 21 February with Russell driving the entire day. Russell stated "The W15 felt nicer to drive compared to the W14. We will continue to maximize our time here to gather data to find the sweet spot."

On Day 2, Hamilton completed over 100 laps and confirmed his teammate's positive reception of the car.

The team ended their pre-season testing on a good note with both drivers finding the car much more stable and more predictable compared to its predecessor. Trackside engineering chief Andrew Shovlin was encouraged by the strong showing during the pre-season testing. Shovlin stated "The team has put in a lot of work to address the handling issues with the W14. So it's great to see that we have put these issues behind us."

Opening rounds
The season started in Bahrain with a mixed qualifying session as Russell qualified third while Hamilton was ninth. Russell finished fifth after suffering a power unit heating issue that required him to lift and coast. Hamilton finished seventh after suffering an issue with his seat, which suddenly cracked midway through the race. Wolff claimed the team was losing around 0.5 seconds per lap due to the engine issue, which also hampered their customer team, Williams.

In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Russell and Hamilton qualified seventh and eighth. Hamilton gambled by not pitting due to an early safety car, running as high as third and defending against Oscar Piastri for 20 laps. Russell finished sixth, 40 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen. Hamilton stated, "It's definitely not fun finishing ninth despite pushing as hard as I could, but we were lacking in the high-speed sections."

In the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton was knocked out of Q2 in Australia for the first time since 2010. Russell qualified seventh, maintaining his Q3 appearance for the third consecutive race weekend. Hamilton retired early due to a power unit failure while Russell crashed out in a penultimate lap incident with Fernando Alonso. The result made Wolff want "to punch himself in the nose". The race marked the first double DNF for the team since the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.

In Japan, Hamilton qualified seventh and Russell ninth, but finished ninth and seventh, respectively.

During sprint qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton qualified second, while Russell qualified eleventh. During the sprint race, Hamilton overtook polesitter Lando Norris in the first corner and held the lead for a couple of laps before he was overtaken by Verstappen. Hamilton finished the sprint in second place. Russell finished eighth. Hamilton qualified eighteenth, and Russell qualified eighth. Hamilton recovered to finish ninth and Russell finished sixth.

In the Miami sprint weekend, Russell and Hamilton were knocked out on SQ2 and started the sprint race from 11th and 12th, respectively. In the sprint, Hamilton was penalized by the stewards with a 20-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane during a Safety Car period, dropping him to 16th. Russell finished the sprint in 12th. Hamilton finished the main race in sixth, with Russell finishing eighth.

European and Canadian rounds
Mercedes brought upgrades for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix consisting of a revised floor and brake duct, and a new rear and beam wing. Russell qualified sixth and Hamilton eighth. Hamilton took seventh place at the start, but neither driver made further progress. Russell pitted late for a new set of mediums, effectively swapping positions with Hamilton, with the former finishing behind, but with the fastest lap at hand.

In Monaco, in qualifying, Russell out-qualified Hamilton with the former starting from fifth while the latter from seventh. During the race, neither driver was able to improve on their starting positions. Wolff claimed that a miscommunication came when delivering a message to Hamilton to undercut Verstappen. Hamilton set the fastest lap.

In Canada, Russell qualified on pole position, setting an identical time of 1:12:00 with Verstappen. Hamilton qualified seventh. The race started with a wet conditions and Russell held on to the lead from Verstappen at the early stages, but made mistakes that allowed both Verstappen and Norris to catch up. At the end Hamilton was third and on course for a podium finish, before Russell overtook him. Russell's third place was the team's first podium of the season. Hamilton finished fourth with the fastest lap. Hamilton would later criticise his race as one of the worst of his career for failing to capitalise on the car's competitiveness in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Spanish Grand Prix saw Hamilton finishing on the podium for the first time in the season behind Norris and Verstappen. The podium extends his consecutive seasons in a row where he finished on the podium to 18 seasons. Russell finished the race in fourth.

The W15 achieved its first victory in Austria with Russell taking advantage of Verstappen and Norris' battle for the lead that saw them taking damage. Hamilton missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish. The victory earned Russell his second career win and the team's first since the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.

Mercedes locked out the front row in the British Grand Prix, with Russell qualifying on pole and Hamilton in second. However, Russell was forced to retire from the race on lap 35 due to a suspected water issue. Hamilton held off Verstappen and Norris in the changing conditions en route for his first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ending his winless streak of 56 races, which lasted for over two years. In the process, he became the first driver to win the same race (British Grand Prix) nine times. This marked the first time Mercedes won back-to-back races since the 2021 season.

Complete Formula One results
* Season still in progress.