Look at it carefully: the Mercedes W15, curated by James Allinson, technical director of the Barckley team, is a car that looks to 2024 with renewed ambitions after two seasons of strong disappointments.
The concept of the last two cars (W13 and W14) was renounced by the English technician, aiming for solutions more in line with the most popular cars: it is interesting to remind Prancing Horse fans that Loic Serra, the specialist that Fred Vasseur l last year he co-opted to bring him to Maranello, he is still in his place at Brackley's desk because his exit is scheduled for April and the transfer to the Scuderia will only be possible when the inevitable gardening period is completed.
It is all too clear that the esteemed French engineer will not be able to be operational on the 2025 car, but will be free when Ferrari begins to study the 2026 single-seater in detail, which will represent a clean break with the current ground effect cars.
The latest flap of the Mercedes W15 which causes discussion about its legality
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The rules will change the philosophy of future F1 cars: they will look for shorter and less bulky cars and, hopefully, decidedly lighter thanks also to the wheels which should become 16 inches instead of the current 18 inches.
It will be curious to evaluate from tomorrow in the tests in Bahrain what will be the performance of the black arrow which also reports a return to the silver colour, because Serra was not put in the “refrigerator” in the Brackley facility after it became known that he would land in Maranello.
Toto Wolff did not send the transalpine coach into exile: the Austrian manager is perfectly aware of the contribution he can make to Mercedes as long as he is operational in his place. At Brackley there is no fear that Loic could bring the Star's know-how to the Scuderia, for the simple reason that the 2026 F1 cars will be so drastically different from the current single-seaters, that the Frenchman will have to start with a blank sheet of paper when he can set foot in Maranello the first time.
It is becoming clear how much the technical market is blocked by rules which, perhaps, will need to be reviewed, to avoid putting a system in stone which risks preventing the growth of the chasing teams with overly long gardening periods to protect the intellectual property of the Builders which is considered the most precious asset to be protected. But is it really like that?
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