How Mercedes' 'extreme' car has roots in an old Ferrari

The Mercedes W16 appears at first sight to be a combination of multiple car concepts, especially when looking at the sidepod and air inlets.

The team has opted for full-height vertical slits from the floor to the lip overlooking the inlets - which in themselves have been reduced to just horizontal slit - thus increasing the undercut, helping to channel the air towards the rear of the car.

In making the most of these areas, Mercedes is trying to not only increase the aerodynamic performance, but of downforce load, and chiefly its distribution across the car.

It is not surprising that the sidepods have been the focus of Mercedes' extreme development, and RacingNews365 believes it is a signature of new strategic development director Simone Resta, hired from Ferrari. 

If we cast our minds back to 2017 and 2018, such an innovative approach to the sidepod inlets was present on the Ferrari's Resta designed and which nearly carried Sebastian Vettel to a world championship in the SF-70 (below) and SF-71H, respectively. 

These two Ferraris were designed so the air-flow to the radiators and intercoolers of the power unit was divided into separate compartments, with the new Mercedes front-wing also displaying impressions of a Maranellian origin, both at the main profile and flap level.

Overall, Mercedes' new design appears aimed more at a universal increase in performance as opposed to widening the car's performance window with the 2024 W15 suffering from a tiny such window.

Speaking to people in the paddock, the team is confident that the overall balance of the car has been greatly improved, and for this reason, they have opted to push hard on delivering concepts that still had a wide development curve to exploit.