The Mercedes 2022 challenger was plagued by porpoising and bouncing while its W14 successor drew complaints from drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell over rear-end handling instability.
That prompted Mercedes to change concept for 2024, fully abandoning a size-zero sidepod architecture in the hope of developing a platform that was more predictable and consistent.
But the new W15 has also proved temperamental, and Mercedes motorsport boss Wolff believes this now points to the team’s wind tunnel findings not matching how the car behaves on track.
“When I look at the positives, I think we took many potential root causes out of the equation,” Wolff said of Mercedes addressing the weaknesses of its recent ground-effect creations.
“We weren't sure about our suspension. We weren't sure about the stiffness of our gearbox carrier. We had a vibrating steering rack. All of those things have disappeared.
“But fundamentally, whatever we see in the tunnel doesn't correlate with what's happening on the track.”
Source: Autosport