Mercedes worked their socks off during the 2023 season to edge out Ferrari in the Constructors’ championship battle. However, despite clinching P2 in the standings, the Silver Arrows’ technical director, James Allison has revealed the dark truth of F1’s off-season that is going to give his staff sleepless nights.
While appearing on the Performance People Podcast, Allison revealed, “It’s a commonly mistaken idea that the season ends and then you can take a break. Everyone in this sport knows that the season never ends and the break never comes.”
After ditching their ‘zero-pods’ concept from the 2023 Monaco GP onwards, the Brackley-based team was working hard to rectify their faulty concept. With much work being put into the W14 throughout the season, the off-season would’ve meant some time off for leisure for the boys and girls back at the factory. But from Allison’s admission, it would appear as though a tough winter break is on the horizon for the team to ensure they get back to winning ways.
After the season came to a conclusion at the Abu Dhabi GP, Lewis Hamilton made an alarming confession about Red Bull. “For Red Bull to win by 17 seconds in the end, and they haven’t developed their car since August is definitely a concern,” he said.
Mercedes throw the kitchen sink at Red Bull in light of their developmental advantage
The RB19 was one of the most dominant F1 cars of all time. And after wrapping up 21 Grand Prix wins this year, the team revealed that they had virtually not worked on the car at all. Consequently, most of their developmental efforts were focused on the RB20 instead, to make the team more dominant than what they’ve been this season.
In response, the Silver Arrows have decided to try every possible trick in their repertoire to ensure bridging the gap to the Milton Keynes-based team. Toto Wolff told RacingNews365.com, “We see opportunities and we’re not shying away of leaving no stone unturned and looking at every single concept,” while discussing the W15.
In 2024, Red Bull is expected to dominate once again, despite the efforts from Mercedes or its other rivals. Rumors have it that the RB20 is going to eliminate the team’s Achilles’ heel. The wind sensitivity of the car that was exemplified at Brazil will be gone as the team look to evolve the aerodynamic concept of the car.
That being said, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all look like potential candidates to derail the Bulls’ supreme reign atop F1 if they can nail their own off season efforts.
