It would be cliche to say that James Allison is the man with the Midas touch. However, Mercedes’ turnaround ever since he returned as the technical director midway through 2023 has been nothing short of a miracle. Now, Allison is keen on keeping up this aggressive upward trajectory of improvements as the Silver Arrows ride high on the back of two consecutive wins in Austria and Silverstone.
Mercedes have brought several upgrades this season to iron out the issues plaguing their new W15 concept. And the result is evident as they have gone from fighting in the lower trenches of the points to contending for wins and podiums. Allison suggested they want to keep bringing upgrades so that their rivals like Red Bull and McLaren don’t overtake them again in the development war.
#F1 || He promised and fulfilled.
James Allison (17/05/2024) “We will see the results in a few months, before the summer holidays. The development will put the team in contention for a podium or even a victory.”
It took less than two months for the promise to be fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/QptKZTz9DN
— Mercedes-AMG Passion Club (@MercedesAMGPCF1) July 8, 2024
Per Formu1a.uno, the British engineer said, “Our challenge is just to keep those upgrades arriving at a pace that the others cannot keep up with.” Allison knows how the Mercedes team can overturn tricky cars into championship-winning machinery, as he has led the Brackley outfit to do so in their dominant days from 2014 to 2021.
Similarly, in 2024 as well, Mercedes were at a similar juncture in the initial few races, puzzled by the nuances of the W15‘s operating window. However, with several small upgrade packages in Imola, Monaco, Montreal, and Barcelona, Allison and his team have got Mercedes into regular podium contention.
So much so that when the leading duo of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen collided in Austria, George Russell cashed in to take Mercedes’ first win since Brazil (2022). To back that up, Lewis Hamilton kept his calm to win a brilliant race in Silverstone, that too on merit ahead of Verstappen and Norris.
A NINE-time British GP winner pic.twitter.com/mvrdmaZtHH
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 7, 2024
Thus, the Silver Arrows are certainly optimistic to keep pushing for more improvements and consistently challenge for wins in the second half of the 2024 season. They have upgrades coming in at the next round in Hungary too. Meanwhile, even Red Bull are bringing a major package at the Hungarian GP to not lose too much ground to both Mercedes and McLaren.
On the other hand, McLaren arguably have the fastest car currently. Still, their in-season development will have to deliver some upgrades to cement their status as a front-runner. Also, their issues are mainly around their strategy and race execution rather than the car’s performance.
Ferrari, meanwhile, certainly have a developmental task to recover its lost pace since its Monaco GP win. They did some testing at the British GP weekend to understand their Imola and Barcelona spec versions of the SF-24. It is reported that Ferrari have chosen to retain the Imola-spec version of the car to try and recover lost ground to McLaren and Mercedes.
