James Allison May Have Revealed Mercedes Antidote to Stop Max Verstappen’s Dominance

Mercedes has had a below-par start to the 2023 season as they currently find themselves way off the pace set by leaders Red Bull. The Silver Arrows currently find themselves in an unusual position as they have failed to record a victory after the first seven races, with Red Bull winning all of them. However, things could now turn for the better for Mercedes, according to James Allison.

The chief technical officer has provided some remarks that would be music to the ears of Mercedes fans. Allison has full confidence in the team that they can produce a car that is capable of beating Max Verstappen as early as this season.

While he acknowledged that Mercedes may not be able to fight for the title this year, he had no doubt about the next season. Since Allison is more than capable of delivering a championship-winning car, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff decided to bring him back earlier this season.

The Austrian replaced him with Mike Elliott, who was previously serving as the team’s chief technical officer. And Allison’s influence has been there for everyone to see, as Mercedes put up a brilliant performance in Spain two weeks ago with a double podium finish.

James Allison sends a warning to Red Bull and Max Verstappen

After a poor start to this year’s campaign, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff decided to bring James Allison back. While there was some major confusion about Allison’s role in the team, Wolff clarified the same by stating that he had brought the British engineer back to help the side with key strategic decisions.

And with Allison now back in the team, he has already issued a huge warning to Red Bull and Max Verstappen. While speaking about Mercedes’ goals for this season, the 55-year-old said, “Can this car become competitive enough to win a race this year? Yes it can“.

While this statement of Allison is likely to be assured for Mercedes’ fans, the remarks that followed are likely to be even more comforting. “Can we — if we do the right things — be in the championship fight for the following year? Even even more yes,” added a confident Allison.

Allison’s return has already seemed to have a positive impact on the side as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished on the podium two weeks ago in Spain. This was the side’s first double podium of the 2023 season and also the first for Russell this year.

Allison’s return brings hope for future success

James Allison returned to Mercedes earlier this year after departing his duties from INEOS UK’s sailing team. The Briton was brought back because of the remarkable success he had with the side from 2017 to 2021, with the team winning the Constructors’ Championship in all the seasons.

And with Allison leaving the side, Mike Elliott has not been able to help the team achieve similar success. The performances under Elliott have been so poor that it even prompted the 49-year-old to admit that he made mistakes.

While speaking on a Beyond the Grid podcast last year in October, Elliott said (as quoted by planetf1.com), “I could point to one moment in time last year, where we did something that I think we made a mistake, and what you’re seeing in terms of performance at the track and the way it swings from race to race is a consequence of that“.

And star driver Lewis Hamilton also brought up these concerns by slamming the team earlier this season. The 38-year-old was far from happy because his side did not listen to his suggestions despite him having ample experience in winning multiple world championships.

While things looked bleak for Mercedes up until now, Allison’s return may just be the spark the team needs to get back on track. The Silver Arrows will now hope that they can produce another decent performance in Canada after an outstanding weekend in Spain two weeks ago.