The past two seasons have undoubtedly been tough for Mercedes, with the squad struggling to recapture their dominant form of old. But after some signs of progress, can they come back stronger in 2024? Here’s everything you need to know about the Silver Arrows and what their main goal is likely to be in the year ahead…
Lewis Hamilton #44: 7 world championships, 103 wins, 104 pole positions, 197 podiums, 4639.5 points, 332 starts
George Russell #63: 1 win, 1 pole position, 11 podiums, 469 points, 104 starts
While the past couple of years have been challenging for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton remains one of the most successful drivers in the sport’s history. The Briton secured six of his seven titles with the team between 2014 and 2020, a period in which the combination of Hamilton and Mercedes seemed unbeatable.
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After narrowly missing out on the world championship to Max Verstappen in 2021, Hamilton has since gone without a race win. He will now enter what will be his final season with the Silver Arrows following the announcement of his shock switch to Ferrari for 2025.
On the other side of the garage, George Russell goes into his third campaign with the squad after a difficult season in 2023, in which he finished eighth in the championship compared to Hamilton’s third. With the British driver set to welcome a new team mate in 2025, he will surely be keen to establish himself as a team leader in the year ahead.
Off the back of a challenging 2022 season, Mercedes’ fortunes did not appear to have greatly improved going into 2023. The team continued to face issues with the W14 car, having stuck with the design philosophy of its troubled predecessor, the W13.
While there was a reshuffle behind the scenes in April when James Allison returned to the role of Technical Director, the Silver Arrows’ on-track form started to show signs of progress, with a high point being a double podium for Hamilton and Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.
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This was followed by some ups and downs – another positive moment came when Hamilton clinched an impressive pole position in Hungary, while the Sao Paulo Grand Prix marked a particularly difficult weekend for the team.
They did, however, manage to hold off Ferrari to claim P2 in the constructors’ championship, while Hamilton sealed third place in the drivers’ standings, making him the closest challenger to the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
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