Damon Hill insists one F1 car looks ‘very difficult’ to drive unlike 2024 Ferrari

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Damon Hill thinks the Mercedes W15 looked ‘very difficult’ for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to drive in pre-season, unlike Ferrari’s latest car.

The Silver Arrows left 1996 Formula 1 world champion Hill feeling underwhelmed with their new machine during testing last week. Mercedes have introduced a number of upgrades for the W15 to try and fix some of the W14’s issues. But their efforts may not have hit the mark.

Technical director James Allison says Mercedes focused a lot of time on resolving the W14’s ‘unpredictable rear axle’, which Hamilton and Russell found ‘toxic’ last year. The W14 rarely gave the two British drivers much confidence as they struggled to find consistent grip levels.

Damon Hill feels the Mercedes W15 is ‘very difficult to drive’

Mercedes moved their seat rearwards by around 5-10 centimetres between the W14 to the W15 to help their drivers. The W15 also features a new front wing, which Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache found ‘very interesting’ after seeing it for the first time during testing.

Russell spent much of the first day in Bahrain focusing on putting laps on the board. The 26-year-old completed 122 on day one and only set the 12th fastest lap time. Hamilton got his first outing on day two and completed 123 laps, whilst also taking the third-fastest lap time.

Hamilton and Russell posted a further 49 and 67 laps on the third and final day of testing in Bahrain, too. While the latter set the second-fastest time of the day behind Charles Leclerc. But Ferrari took the overall fastest time with Carlos Sainz’s 1:29.921 lap posted on day two.

Ferrari’s VF-24 looks ‘subtle’ ahead of the 2024 F1 Bahrain GP

Formula 1’s pre-season test gave Mercedes moderate optimism ahead of the 2024 season starting at this Saturday’s Bahrain GP. Hamilton also said the W15 is ‘a much better car’ than the W14 was at this stage of 2023. But Hill did not like what he saw of the W15 over testing.

Former Williams driver Hill felt the W15 still gave Hamilton and Russell a ‘rough ride’ despite Mercedes’ upgrades. It did not look as ‘subtle’ as Ferrari’s VF-24 which Sainz set the pace with. So, the Scuderia could have an edge on race pace over the Silver Arrows this weekend.

“I think you’d hear more positive noises coming out of Mercedes than there has been if they thought they’d really nailed it,” Hill said on Sky Sports F1 (28/2, 12:59). “It’s okay getting rid of a spiteful rear end. That’s one thing but you have to see performance.

“I thought the car looked very difficult to drive, actually, looking at some of the laps I saw in testing. It seemed a rough ride and it seemed like that for quite a long time, it seems to me. Whereas the Ferrari did look subtle and that might be born out in its race-run pace, as well.”