Mercedes F1 team’s technical director James Allison has recently revealed what makes Toto Wolff special and how the Austrian is different from the other bosses he has worked with in the past. The 56-year-old made these remarks when asked about it on the most recent episode of the F1 Nation podcast.
“The thing that has made that relationship, one that for me has been very enjoyable, is that of the big bosses that I’ve worked for, Toto is the one that has the self-confidence to cope with the fact that I’m quite outspoken”, said Allison.
Alisson then explained that he can openly debate about matters with Wolff by adding, “I just say what I think is important. That can be quite direct and difficult to hear sometimes. Toto has been very generous in letting me say those things and being able to argue them out with me, without getting bent out of shape over it“.
This is perhaps a key reason why Wolff is one of the most successful F1 team principals today. Between 2014 and 2021, the 52-year-old led the Silver Arrows to a record eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships.
However, in the past three campaigns of the ground effect era (including 2024 so far), Mercedes have struggled to even win a race. Their only victory in this duration came at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
However, their fortunes could change for the better after an outstanding Canadian Grand Prix weekend. After George Russell clinched the team’s first podium of the year in Montreal, Allison claimed that Mercedes have found the W15’s achilles heel.
James Allison is confident Mercedes are now on the right track
In the past three seasons, Mercedes’ cars have suffered from various issues. In 2022, the W13 suffered from porpoising concerns. Although the Silver Arrows got rid of this in 2023, their W14 suffered a massive dip in performance after they decided to opt for the optimistic zero-side pod idea.
With them opting to drop the idea in 2024, Mercedes had to start from square one. As a result, they had their worst start to a campaign this year, with the team even failing to register a podium after the first eight races.
Only after Mercedes introduced a new front wing for both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s cars, did the team witness an uptick in performance. Their pace was evident in Canada as Russell grabbed pole and was one of the fastest cars on the track in race trim as well.
As a result, James Allison believes that Mercedes have found the fundamental flaw and are now on the right trajectory. The changes seemed to have made the car more drivable and widened their operating window. Although their car still isn’t perfect, their recent developments do give them hope for a strong end to this season.
