Mercedes have revealed that their 2024 F1 car has “70 points more downforce” compared to last year, ♏but it is not reflecting in lap times.

The eight-time constไructors’ world champions are enduring a difficult start to the season for the t🦩hird year in a row since major aerodynamic regulation changes were introduced in 2022.

Despite revamping their car design for 2024, the W15’s performance has proved 💖to be underwhelming and incᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚonsistent across the opening four races, with Mercedes yet to finish higher than fifth in a grand prix.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently ཧadmitted that “fundament🍌al” correlation issues were behind the team’s ongoing F1 struggles.

He has now admitted that the W🔜15 is producing the downforce levels predicted by the wind tunnel, but worryingly, there appears to be no performance ben🐷efit.

“We are measuring downforce with our 🔴sensors andꦛ pressure tabs, and it's saying to us that we have 70 points more downforce in a particular corner in Melbourne than we had last year,” Wolff said.

“But, on the lap tim𝔍e, it is not one kilometre per hour faster. It&nbs🔯p;doesn't make any sense. So, where's the limitation?

"I think we wanted to tick some few boxes to understand: is there any limitಌation that we have spotted? Iꦬ think there is.”

Mercedes are ꦯnow trying to understand 🐻what is causing the anomaly, and whether it could be mechanical rather than aerodynamic.

“Everything over these two years which we have seen points that there should be much more downforce than we believe it is. And now we've measured the downfoꦏrce and it is there,” Wolff explained.

“But we're just not able to extract the lap time out of it that we should, and that tꦐhe simulations show us. It's not trivial.

"I see you looking at me like, what the hell? Now imagiꦐne what we think!”

Wolff added: “I think the car is s🌄o complex for us where we put it in terms of the error balance and mechanical♒ balance. These two need to correlate.

“We’ve followed a certain trajectory over the last years and keep turning and circling. We came to a point to say ‘Okay, we have to do som൩ething di🎃fferent here.’”