Mercedes Unveils Early Insights into 2025 F1 Challenger: A ‘Close Cousin’ to the W15 with Key Design Evolution

Mercedes has disclosed preliminary information about its 2025 Formula 1 vehicle, indicating it will be a "close relative" of the W15. This announcement was shared with a select group of media outlets, including Crash.net.

Mercedes has revealed that their Formula 1 car for the 2025 season will probably be very similar to their current model. They shared initial design details about the W16.

In an interview with a group of journalists, including Crash.net, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' head of trackside engineering, shared preliminary information about the team's Formula 1 car for the upcoming season.

Shovlin also disclosed the ongoing issues Mercedes is trying to resolve with their current W15 car.

Andrew Shovlin, responding to a query from Crash.net, indicated that their main remaining weaknesses lie in hot conditions at rear-limited circuits, where they don’t match the performance of the McLarens or Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

"We observed this in Budapest and also in Austria. The difference in our race pace in Budapest was less noticeable. This shows that we've made improvements over the last few races. At Silverstone, we were actually quite competitive."

"The primary issue is that everyone is working on improving their cars. If your development pace isn't faster than your competitors, you'll soon find yourself falling behind."

"There will consistently be an emphasis on the extent of development that can be achieved. Our foresight is limited to about a month or six weeks ahead, which is the typical timeframe we're dealing with in the wind tunnel."

"We are uncertain whether we can continue to achieve results from our wind tunnel, vehicle dynamics team, and mechanical design department."

"They aim to maintain strong performance through the end of the year, if all goes well. We have promising concepts, but there's a significant amount of effort required to transform those ideas into tangible components that can be installed on the car to enhance its speed."

Following a lackluster beginning to the 2024 season, Mercedes has recently experienced a strong comeback, securing victories in three out of the last four races before the summer break.

In response to a query from Crash.net about whether Mercedes intends to maintain their intense development strategy in the latter part of the season, Shovlin commented: “We will persist at the factory in seeking every bit of performance possible. If that's what you refer to as aggressive development, then yes, we’re fully committed to extracting maximum performance.”

"Later in the year, discussions will need to take place about whether the improvements should be applied to the current car or if they should be held off for the next model. Due to the cost cap, these discussions will involve balancing the potential performance benefits with the associated expenses."

"We aim to compete at the forefront next year. Therefore, we will consistently make choices that allow for that opportunity. Regarding the wind tunnel, there is a stage where resources are gradually redirected from this year's car to the car for the following year.

"Most teams have likely begun developing their cars for next year. The speed at which they allocate resources to this task can vary, but it’s possible that strategies effective for this year's car will also be beneficial for next year's model, or the other way around."

"This won’t be like the challenge we’ll face in 2026, which will be an entirely different situation."

Shovlin acknowledged that Mercedes still needs to finalize key decisions regarding specific components that will be used in 2025.

"We are still considering whether to keep the same chassis and gearbox," he stated.

"The truth is that altering everything might not be feasible. We're currently in a phase where we're assessing options to get the most value from the budget within the cost cap."

"However, I believe that from an aerodynamic standpoint, our car, as well as most others, will be a refined version of the current model. There will be notable modifications, but no one will want to overhaul the car's structure and suffer a major setback in wind tunnel testing that would need to be rectified. I don't think many will take that route."

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