Toto Wolff and company hope to take a step forward with the W16
A new dawn is breaking at Mercedes in Formula 1.
After finishing a distant second to Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship in 2023, Mercedes slipped to fourth in the standings last year. This came despite both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell reaching the top step of the podium, with Russell winning in Austria and Las Vegas, and Hamilton winning at Silverstone and Spa.
Now, Hamilton is off to Ferrari, with young Andrea Kimi Antonelli tapped to fill his massive shoes. Ahead of pre-season testing, the team unveiled their 2025 challenger, the W16. The team hopes their 2025 challenger will enable them to make “improvements in the areas that held us back last year.”
“Being the fourth year of these regulations on the chassis side, the cars are in the more mature phase. Big gains in lap time are harder to come by but we’ve been concentrating on making improvements in the areas that held us back last year,” said James Allison, Mercedes Technical Director, in a statement launching the W16.
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
According to the team the W16 incorporates “changes to every aerodynamic surface, new front suspension, and further changes under the skin of the W16 to remedy some of the more challenging characteristics of its predecessor.”
That means a focus on corners, and tire performance, with the W16.
“Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tire temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session,” continued Allison. “We are pleased with our progress over the winter and we’re looking forward to finding out where we stack up against everyone else.”
As for how Mercedes will stack up against everyone else, Team Principal Toto Wolff hopes the team will challenge for wins on a more consistent basis.
“Everyone at the team, in Brackley and Brixworth, has been hard at work over the winter. Last season was incredibly competitive on the track and, whilst we took several wins, we are all focused on challenging for victories more consistently. We have made gains in the off-season, but we will only know where we stand come the first race in Australia,” said the Mercedes boss.
Still, Wolff would not rule out a championship push.
“It is going to be a highly competitive season,” added Wolff. “We saw last year just how close the field was. You couldn’t say race-to-race who would be at the front, and I expect this year to be even closer.
“We will have to be at our very best if we want to challenge for championships this season.”
