As this year’s Championship battle has intensified, Mercedes have lagged behind their immediate rivals. According to Toto Wolff, crash damages are forcing Mercedes to make sacrifices to say within the budget cap.
Mercedes pay the price for incidents
The last few months have arguably been the worst spell of the year for Mercedes.
Upgrades have done little to elevate the W15 in the closing stages of the season, with the German constructor unable to match the development at McLaren and Ferrari.
Even before Russell and Hamilton’s costly COTA incidents, further upgrades to the W15 were in doubt.
Considering the hundreds of thousands Mercedes lost from these crashes, the final four races could be a question of damage limitation:
“Now, potentially, we may have to compromise the rest of this season,” Toto Wolff told the media.
“Which, to be honest, I’d probably be in favour for because we’re not fighting for a championship.
“I’d be more than happy staying on the old floor if that gives us a better chance into next year.
“But, you know, I think we’ll be able to repair the floor from Austin. I think that’s the plan.”
It would be a mistake to write off Mercedes for the rest of 2024. James Allison’s technical team have only had two races to optimise the upgrades brought to COTA.
Considering the overall trajectory of the Brackley team’s campaign, it is plausible they can unlock more performance from the W15.
With that said, Toto Wolff has admitted that repairing a damaged component is not an ideal fix. A repaired floor, for example, will not generate the same performance as a brand new one.
Because of this, the W15 will be far from ideal condition at Interlagos. Beyond this weekend, Mercedes will work to compensate for the unexpected crash costs that have accumulated in 2024.
