Going forward
Ending the season a distant fourth in the constructors’ championship – their weakest result since 2012 – will, needless to say, not have been the outcome that Mercedes were hoping for in 2024.
Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin admitted at the campaign’s end that it had been a “long and, at times, tough season” for the team, as well as acknowledging that “there is more work for us to do if we are to challenge for championships once again”.
This is something that the men and women back at base in Brackley and Brixworth are focused on going forward – and, given how increasingly competitive the field became as the 2024 season progressed, the Silver Arrows will be hoping to get themselves back in the mix amongst their rivals at the front on a more consistent basis next year.
PALMER: Hamilton’s battling Abu Dhabi drive was a fine farewell to Mercedes – and a promising prelude to his Ferrari move
And while a new raft of regulations will not be introduced into the sport until 2026, there is already a new era unfolding at Mercedes in 2025 given the exit of Hamilton, whose 12-year relationship with the team has been the longest and most successful in the sport’s history. Given the challenges of their final season together, 2024 was a bittersweet ending to that partnership.
This ending has brought forward the start of Antonelli’s arrival into F1, with the 18-year-old one of a number of rookies preparing to make their debut next season. It will be fascinating to see how the young Italian fares as he steps up for the biggest move of his so-far rapid rise through the motorsport ranks.
Russell, meanwhile, enters into his fourth season racing for the squad and will now take on the role of team leader, while Valtteri Bottas returns as a reserve driver. The Finn was a popular member of the Mercedes outfit during his stint as Hamilton’s team mate from 2017-2021 – but time will tell if the Silver Arrows are able to recapture those glory days in the near future…
