Long gone are the turbo-hybrid days when Lewis Hamilton‘s Mercedes Formula 1 team used to rule over the sport.

In the ongoing ground-effect era, Mercedes has had a shocker, and while they have improved in the 2024 season, they still remain incredibly inconsistent.

Toto Wolff and company have been perplexed by how their W15 works incredibly well at certain tracks and proves nowhere near the front at other places. In Las Vegas, they shockingly operated in a league of their own and managed a 1-2 finish.

Mercedes has managed four Grand Prix wins along with nine podium finishes this year, and amidst the highs and the lows, they have experimented a lot on their car. Before the summer break, they were eyeing a challenge for the constructors’ title (425 points after 22 rounds), but since the end of it, they have only slipped backward.

In the whole of 2024, the outfit has struggled with bouncing, lack of grip, oversteer, poor balance, correlation issues between on-track and simulator performance, and also issues with their new floors. The situation has been so bad that both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have several times come forward to bash the W15.

Moreover, the Brackley-based outfit even recently admitted to experimenting a lot more on Hamilton’s car in the remaining races. They are in a bit of a limbo with the challenger, and the remaining two events could help in sorting out some of their issues going into the winter break.

Mercedes to bank on George Russell’ might both as a leader and mentor in 2025

While Mercedes has just two races to go to be done with their frustrating 2024 F1 season, for 2025, they have got to bank on George Russell. The young Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be coming in, and Russell will have to act as a leader on two fronts.

Firstly, he will have to ease Antonelli into the Mercedes setup as quickly as possible, and secondly, he will have to help on the development front of the W16. The engineers on the team will prioritize his input more in comparison to the less experienced young Italian driver.

Toto Wolff has always spoken highly about Russell, and with Hamilton no longer in the picture, 2025 is well and truly his time to shine on the Mercedes F1 team. If the outfit manages to get on top of its inconsistency issues with the car, then Russell could be seen locking horns with the lights of Max Verstappen next year.