Mercedes has conceded the team must understand the reason behind the “uglier behaviour” of its 2024 Formula 1 car appearing when more grip is available on track.
The German marque has endured a challenging last two race weekends as an upgrade package brought to the United States has delivered unexpected complications.
Both drivers sustained high-speed spins with the new parts in Austin, prompting Lewis Hamilton to attribute the blame to the squad’s latest developments to the W15.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has also questioned whether the changes are a tangible improvement as team-mate George Russell on the old-spec out-qualified him in Mexico.
Regardless, Mercedes has not been able to challenge its main rivals in the last two rounds with either package, despite encouraging pace earlier on in both weekends.
Russell was close to bagging Sprint pole on Friday evening in the United States, while the Briton then headed the times in FP1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
But with such promise vanishing when it matters, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted there is a correlation between its competitiveness and the track conditions.
“Well, I don’t think we are running lighter. I don’t think we are attacking more,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week post-race in Mexico.
“I think it’s a pattern all season that we seem to not be able to extract more performance when the track grips up. Some of the uglier behaviour comes out.
“The three-wheeling, the bouncing, the instability when the car starts to really pick up speed and the high speed is a pattern that we’ve seen.
“That is something we need to get on top of.
“We have a direction for next year but obviously we see the glass half-empty at the moment and that’s why we need to optimize those last four races. What is it we can learn?”
Hamilton examined Mercedes differences
Hamilton was more upbeat about Mercedes’ prospects post-race in Mexico as his battle with Russell allowed him to assess the contrasts between the two packages.
“We got a lot of information,” Hamilton, who overtook his team-mate’s wounded car to come home in fourth, told media including Motorsport Week.
“I could see on his car where he was better than me, and I’m sure hopefully he’ll be able to see where he’s better than me.
“Package-wise, hopefully [the team has] lots of data, so we’ll figure out who starts what next race.”
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