Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has teased that the side has “many good things in the pipeline” for its 2024 Formula 1 car as it attempts to bounce back into title contention.
The Brackley-based squad entered the current technical regulations introduced last year amid an unprecedented run of eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
But Mercedes has been unable to replicate its success from the previous era since F1 returned to ground effect machinery, only collecting a solitary race victory in two years.
Mercedes was hampered by its choice to retain the ‘zeropod’ solution for the past campaign and ended the year without a win despite a mid-season change of car concept.
With the German marque pressing ahead with a revised philosophy for 2024, Wolff hinted that he has been encouraged by the initial signs from the team’s W15 challenger.
“We have a gap to the leaders,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“But the two teams, at Brixworth and Brackley, are so motivated. We have so many good things in the pipeline, so many new things, and, with all the learning we had, [we are] really in a good place to see what’s coming together.
“[We have] got to take the momentum now from the P2 in the championship and take the momentum to the factories.”
Despite rising to second place in the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes still lagged a considerable 454 points behind Red Bull, who triumphed in 21 of the 22 races.
While Wolff admits that rival teams will be dependent on that materialising, he admits that Mercedes can also take a sizeable step forward by delivering a more compliant car.
“Let’s be honest, they [Red Bull] have a gap because they got well out of the blocks with the new regulations,” he conceded.
“In order to catch up, that’s a monumental endeavour.
“At a certain stage, hopefully, they level off with their development speed and we can catch up. It’s not only adding a tenth of downforce or so, our car had a fundamental problem.
“It’s unstable, the drivers have no confidence in the car and, if we can dial that out, then I think we can make that step forward like other teams have done.”
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