After a tough start to the season, Mercedes won two back-to-back races in Austria and Britain, kickstarting their comeback journey to the top of F1. However, there was an anomaly to the W15 that helped George Russell win the race in Spielberg, and Lewis Hamilton end his 945-day victory drought.

In Austria, a bulge was spotted on the nose of the car, and it turned out to be the first race the Silver Arrows would win since 2022. A report published by Formula Data Analysis states that this change came because of Mercedes fitting in a component on its car – a heave Spring and damper.

The bulge on the car reduces downforce. A softer suspension prevents the floor from working as close as possible to its ideal height. Still, the improvement for Mercedes has been massive since it went for this change.

Now that Mercedes has overcome its past issues, Technical Director James Allison is baffled at how they didn’t come across a solution before.

According to Allison, Mercedes’s recent upgrade package helped them overcome a persisting aerodynamic issue. The 56-year-old points out how the changes brought in Monaco were going to help in either high-speed corners or low-speed corners; but never both.

As such, the further upgrades helped the team receive a wider window. “Oh God, how could we have been so stupid as not to see the path to follow sooner?” Allison said during the Canadian GP.

Mercedes wasn’t the only team to suffer problems with aerodynamics following an upgrade. Ferrari too, has become victims of the same. This is why, they too, could be seen fielding a car with a bulge on its nose in the coming weeks.