Mercedes announce major changes to iron out F1 car flaws

Mercedes has confirmed a raft of changes have been made to its latest F1 title challenger in a bid to erase what the team has described as the "more challenging characteristics of its predecessor".

The W15 became renowned for struggling on entry into the corners, whilst also possessing a very narrow operating window with the Pirelli tyres, leading to inconsistent results, from race wins to battling in the lower end of the top 10.

For this year's W16, Mercedes has announced 'changes to every aerodynamic surface, new front suspension, and further changes under the skin' as it looks to end the current regulation set on a high.

Technical director James Allison said: "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.

"Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session.

"We are pleased with our progress over the winter and we’re looking forward to finding out where we stack up against everyone else."

More than four F1 teams to win grands prix?

Mercedes won four of the 24 grands prix last year but finished a distant fourth in the constructors' championship, 198 points behind champions McLaren due to the inconsistencies with its car.

Allison is fully expecting Mercedes to be firmly in the mix again for race victories, although he is also anticipating teams beyond the 'big four' to take the chequered flag. 

“It will be a fiercely fought championship from the off," said Allison. “At this stage of the regulations, the cars are converging in terms of performance.

"There will be multiple winners, and it’s possible we will see even more teams than the four that scored victories last year taking to the top step of the podium."

Echoing Allison's sentiment, Wolff said: “It is going to be a highly competitive season. 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."