James Allison: confident of a Mercedes comeback

F1: Beyond The Grid

karenellenbevan

Leisure, Sports, Technology, Automotive

4.8 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes dominated Formula 1 with a record eight Constructor World Championships in a row.

Since 2022 though, they have struggled to fully grasp the current ground effect cars and, as a result, have dramatically fallen down the pecking order, behind their rivals Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Merc’s struggles continued at the start of 2024, but they have made progress in the last few races. George Russell’s P3 and Lewis Hamilton’s P4 in Canada secured the team’s best result of the season thus far.

So, where were they going wrong? What have they changed on the car? And are they going to be competitive for the rest of the year? Speaking to Tom Clarkson in Montreal, Mercedes Technical Director James Allison answers all those questions.

He also talks about the personal impact of the team’s struggles, why he thinks Hamilton has been outqualified by Russell so far this season, what he’ll miss about Lewis, whether he thinks 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli is ready for F1, and much more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	When you're winning a record eight world titles in a row, it would be easy to take success for granted.
0:10.0	Everything we did was trying to goad ourselves to remember that it would be complacency that got us,
0:16.0	hubris that finished us, very fearful that we would lacking the sting of defeat,
0:21.7	would not be turning over the rocks that would be necessary to stay strong.
0:26.0	And we were able to sort of slay loads of the complacency dragons, but you don't have to make many mistakes before they'll get you and this one had quite a big impact on it.
0:35.6	The dominant force in Formula One before Red Bull's recent Renaissance, Mercedes have fallen behind in recent years. but after scoring their first poll and podium of the season in Canada,
0:47.0	technical director James Allison is hopeful they finally made a long-term breakthrough.
0:52.8	If we can get ourselves back to a place where we are genuinely properly competitive
0:58.0	across the whole wide range of circuits and we're in the championship battle,
1:01.9	I know that the pleasure we will collectively feel will make all the last three years the pain and the self-doubt and the self-loathing in some instances will make all of that just go away like dew, you know, as the sun comes out.
1:20.0	Hello and welcome to F1 Beyond the Grid with me Tom Clarkson.
1:27.0	James Allison is a winner during his impressive career at the sharp end of Formula One, he's contributed to 27 drivers and
1:35.4	construct his titles so we can only imagine just how frustrating the last few years
1:40.9	have been for him because since the current ground effect cars were introduced a couple of years ago,
1:46.0	Mercedes have had a tough time
1:48.0	and last season was their first without a single victory in 12 years.
1:53.0	But George Russell's Poland podium in Montreal felt like a turning point.
1:57.0	And in this chat, James talks us through the team's recent progress.
2:01.0	He also explains why they were dumb not to see a solution sooner.
2:06.0	James is always articulate and to hear him describe the impact that underperformance
2:12.1	had on him and the team's well-being is very powerful.
2:16.2	We also talk about Lewis Hamilton and what James will miss about the seven-time champion,
	...

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