James Allison Explains Why Mercedes Saw a Brief Rough Patch Against McLaren in Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton’s latest race win in the 2024 British GP was by no means straightforward. The race at Silverstone had many leaders of the race and a lot of external factors affecting the race. Perhaps the most prominent of all was the infrequent showers during the race’s first half. During the rain, the Mercedes cars were not on the same level as McLaren’s MCL38. Now, the technical director James Allison has explained the reason behind it.

As seen in Mercedes’ Debrief video on YouTube, Allison said, “I mean that period of the race was the one bit where we didn’t look competitive and you saw both McLarens coming by.”

“It is linked to tire temperature and the difference between us and them, maybe it was that we had a bit more wear on ours so you’ve got less rubber and when you lose the rubber the temperature of the tire falls but then when you throw in a bit of rain suddenly it cools them down and you can actually drop out of the window altogether.”

That was one crazy wet/dry thriller #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/iOndE8QsiZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2024

The difference in tire temperature gave the McLaren men the grip to zoom past the Mercedes cars. However, the Woking outfit’s poor strategic calls let them down. As soon as Hamilton pitted for soft tires in the later stints, the race changed. The W15 was back to its original fast self as soon as the track dried out.

This was a well-deserved win for the Brackley outfit, unlike the win in Austria. The W15 was rapid throughout the weekend and it was a testament to the car’s progress over the two years.

Mercedes have done everything they could to reverse the damage done in the past two years and they’re getting close. The two back-to-back wins are a testament to their achievement and progress.

However, Formula 1 is a competitive sport and no one stands still. This is exactly why Mercedes will need to continuously develop on the same path and bring consistent upgrades.