The technical director of Mercedes, James Allison, suggested beating Red Bull in 2024 will be challenging but is possible.
Mercedes stated multiple times ahead of the 2024 season the team planned to make significant changes to their car in hopes of increasing chances of closing the gap to the leading Red Bull Racing.
The car that the German team unveiled during their official launch on February 14th very much confirmed all the statements and showed the team wasn't afraid to take a few risks.
One example is the controversial front wing design, where Mercedes found a loophole in regulations that say all parts of the wing need to be attached to the bodywork.
Below, you can see the post @FDataAnalysis, which compares the front wing of other teams. Mercedes connected the top part of the wing with a carbon cable, which technically makes it attached to the bodywork.
FRONT WINGS 💡Mercedes might have found a loophole! By not structurally attaching the uppermost element to the nose, they might recreate the infamous 'Y250' vortex, which improves underbody efficiency👌 I can definitely see the other teams to get noisy about this🤬 #F1
Silver Arrows made multiple aggressive and bold changes in the design of their 2024 challenger - W15, because the team knows they must make significant and clear steps forward to catch up with Red Bull. As quoted by Planet F1, James Allison said:
"I think Toto drew the comparison between climbing Everest and the challenge we have in front of us."
Mercedes's technical director acknowledged the bar is set very high ahead of the 2024 season, but he also still believes competing for the title is possible.
"That’s a fairly apt comparison, because Everest is the sternest of challenges, but it is nevertheless, something that is possible to do."
As opposed to the majority of the seasons that Mercedes spent in Formula 1, the team now perceives themselves as a challenger rather than the favorite as Allison added:
"I think that’s how we’re taking this, as something which is where we are absolutely a challenger rather than a favourite."
