Mercedes Formula 1 CEO Rob Thomas has provided insight into the work going on behind the scenes as the team continues building the car to compete in 2024.
The Brackley-based squad is aiming to return to title contention after enduring an underwhelming previous two years under the sport’s latest ground effect aero regulations.
Despite climbing one spot to second in the Constructors’ Championship in 2023, Mercedes trailed a sizeable 454 points behind Red Bull, who won 21 of the 22 races.
Mercedes’ competitiveness since the rules overhaul has been thwarted by the ‘zeropod’ solution, which it ultimately elected to abandon midway through the last season.
Having converged on a less-than-optimal version of the downwash sidepod philosophy due to limitations surrounding the launch-spec architecture of the W14, Mercedes is pursuing a revised car concept for this year.
With less than a month remaining until the launch of the side’s 2024 challenger, Thomas has explained the mindset and the processes behind assembling an F1 car.
“It’s always an interesting time because it’s a period of working six days a week, they’re long hours, it’s dark and cold,” Thomas told digital magazine Manufacturing Today.
“However, what we generally find though is the excitement builds as we progress. It starts in design and that design then goes into manufacturing or purchasing. And then you start seeing bits of new car appearing everywhere, which gets people talking.
“We make big events of the key milestones. Firing up the car, for example, is massive and then we do the first test, and we communicate very regularly with people on the program.
“Otherwise, it’s just a long slog for six months. But those wins are so worth it. We’re all part of something bigger, and that emotion, you just don’t get that anywhere else.
“No two days are the same. I think that’s what keeps us fresh, and with that sort of motivation that we have to get back to winning again, you just don’t get that anywhere else.”
As Mercedes’ preparations towards the upcoming campaign ramp up at Brackley and Brixworth, Thomas has detailed the core values that the team remains committed to.
“Some of the things we looked at very seriously in those first few years was the culture, which we’ve since worked on,” he explained.
“Our key values are based on what we call PRIDE: Passion, Respect, Innovation, Determination, Excellence. If people don’t perform, that’s what they get marked against.
“We’ve now become a group of very driven people, there’s loads of support and humility, and nobody’s bigger than anyone else.
“We kill status and hierarchy so that there’s space for ideas to be shared because, at the end of the day, we’re trying to be the best in the world, so we all need to do our bit to contribute.
“However, we’re also aware of this cycle where the team works incredibly hard in the winter season, then recovers over the summer, and then we rinse and repeat.
“And if we’re not careful, we forget to enjoy the wins because we constantly looking for the next thing to improve.
“So we’re also working hard to balance that aspect where we also celebrate the successes – we’re not always great at it, but we’re getting there,” he concluded.
