Since the introduction of ground-effect car regulations, Mercedes has only experienced a positive start to the season this year. Certainly, no one in Brackley would have wanted to be this far behind McLaren. However, looking at Mercedes’ progress and their decision not to radically change the technical project started last year—which seems to be yielding good results compared to other teams that made drastic changes—the team led by Toto Wolff can be satisfied.
Especially with the performances of George Russell, who is increasingly becoming the team leader and a driver to rely on for a potential World Championship challenge in the future. In fact, after Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, it is Russell who has achieved the most podiums.
In a recent video released on Mercedes’ official channels, James Allison, the team’s technical director, spoke about the first part of the season, highlighting that the whole team must work towards being competitive not just in qualifying. According to the engineer, the goal is to understand how to optimize tire performance. Only then will McLaren be able to be challenged.
James Allison: “There’s a lack of performance correlation between qualifying and the race”
In these first six races, Mercedes’ strength has been its ability to put together a good qualifying lap, which allows them to start as far forward as possible and manage the race. However, the entire technical team is aware that while Saturday represents an opportunity to take advantage of—albeit risky, as one mistake can ruin the entire weekend—on Sunday, the W16 needs upgrades.
“We have seen a lack of correlation between qualifying and race performance. We find it relatively easy to make the tires work for a single lap, well balanced at both the front and rear. This allows the drivers to be more precise and confident during the qualifying lap,” says James Allison, praising the W16’s strong point.
“But once we’re in the race, the tires heat up faster than we would like. So, the drivers have to slow down to manage the tire temperatures, which obviously makes them slower. And this is obviously not optimal for us,” continues the former Ferrari engineer.
The challenges of a long season with back-to-back races
Once the weaknesses of the car have been identified, it is difficult to work at 100% due to the numerous back-to-back races. James Allison spoke about this in his interview, reassuring fans that new updates are expected for the upcoming European races.
“We’ve already brought upgrades that haven’t been very noticeable. There will be more in the coming races. With a bit of luck, maybe they will improve our performance. We are already at the first quarter of the season, but we realize how difficult it is to bring updates to the car when the time between races is so short,” admits the Brit.
“I hope the next updates we bring will help us make some progress and that we continue to work on tire temperatures, which is what will really help us win.”
James Allison sets the team’s technical goal: “Improve race pace”
With the upcoming European triple-header approaching, which will take Formula 1 to Imola, Barcelona, and Monte Carlo, Mercedes’ technical director has set the team’s priority. According to Russell himself, McLaren’s dominance comes from its tire management. James Allison shares the same view and intends to uncover the secret.
“Our priority heading into the triple-header will definitely be to improve our race pace and maintain Saturday’s performance into Sunday. We will need to better control tire temperatures and ensure the car can unlock all its potential,” concludes James Allison.
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