Lewis Hamilton has revealed how he suspects that upgrades have been behind the dip in competitiveness that Mercedes has endured across recent Formula 1 races.
Mercedes appeared to have discovered how to unlock the W15’s inherent potential on a more consistent basis with three wins in four rounds up to the summer break.
However, Mercedes hasn’t been able to maintain that momentum since the campaign restarted, as it was not in podium contention at the Dutch or Italian Grands Prix.
The German marque has pondered since whether the updated floor that the side introduced in Belgium before the shutdown has induced negative car characteristics.
Mercedes opted to abandon the revised part at Spa-Francorchamps due to concerning results and proceeded to run cross-comparison tests at Zandvoort and Monza.
Hamilton, who was victorious in Britain and Belgium, has expressed his credence that Mercedes’ downward turn can be attributed to the newest additions to the W15.
“I think there’s lots of question marks on a lot of it,” Hamilton said. “I think we’re just trying to understand it.
“It could be a number of things. It could be track-dependent.
“It could be the upgrade – my gut is telling me that it’s probably the upgrade. It’s hard to see the difference between the two.”
Hamilton, who will leave the team to move to Ferrari once this season ends, has stressed that Mercedes understanding the issue will be critical to its 2025 prospects.
The Briton has disclosed that Mercedes will revert to the pre-Belgium specification floor in Baku this weekend in the hope that it eradicates the squad’s ongoing hitch.
“But we’re going to try this weekend roll back on some of it and see whether or not we can spot it,” he added.
“There’s a lot of work going on just to analyse it, because it really gives the team a direction of where they’re going in development. This is the car for next year as well.”
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