Mercedes’ tech boss James Allison has revealed how Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 title defeat to Max Verstappen resulted in a division within their team. That was the last season when the Silver Arrows managed to win the Constructors’ Championship.
Ever since then, Mercedes have struggled to even pose a real challenge for the championship. Last year, the team only finished third, behind champions Red Bull and second-placed Ferrari. Even though Mercedes finished second this season, they lost the title to Red Bull by a whopping 451 points.
Allison has now explained a plausible reason for why Mercedes are currently struggling. While appearing on the Performance People podcast, the 55-year-old said, “When a team has been on a very high plateau for quite a large number of years, for quite a long period of time, and then takes a dip, for whatever reason, it’s very disorientating“.
Allison then added how this resulted in them getting into a “destructive pattern“. He explained, “Probably the most destructive pattern that we as a group got into over that difficult period from when our crown first slipped, was that we fragmented more than we should have done“.
Allison’s remarks come at a time when Mercedes have just managed to win one race in the last two seasons. George Russell won that race in Brazil last year.
As for Lewis Hamilton, he has now failed to win a race for two consecutive campaigns. However, with Allison now back in Mercedes, there is a sense of optimism that he can bring the team back to the top.
Can James Allison help Mercedes rediscover their form?
James Allison returned to Mercedes this season after his replacement, Mike Elliot, failed to meet expectations. Under the leadership of Elliot, the Silver Arrows introduced the zero-side pod concept. However, since Mercedes’ development went backwards as a result of this concept, Elliot and the rest of the team faced massive criticism.
Now, with Allison having returned, he has said that he has tried to make changes to the team. While speaking on the same podcast, the 55-year-old explained the importance of individuals from different teams collaborating with each other to solve issues.
Allison said that the more people communicate with each other, the higher is the possibility that the team will get the results they desire. The frustrations within the Mercedes camp this season grew to such an extent that even team principal Toto Wolff was lost for words when he had to explain his side’s below-par performance in Abu Dhabi.
“It just didn’t come together. Probably that’s what was in the car. Expectations were higher. I’m fed up with having explanations on why it didn’t go well,” explained Wolff in one of his interviews during the Abu Dhabi GP weekend.
