© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes Chief Technical Officer James Allison says the team “didn’t have huge breakthroughs”, but they “moved forward a little bit” at the Australian Grand Prix.
After two difficult races, Mercedes surprised everyone with their performance at the Australian Grand Prix.
However, while there is no doubt that the improved performance is a big positive, Mercedes’ Chief Technical Officer James Allison doesn’t think it’s time to celebrate just yet.
“Overall [we felt] a sense of quiet satisfaction that we have moved the car forward that, from a performance point of view, we probably got as much as it is able to give right now,” the Briton said.
“That happiness, of course, is tempered by the disappointment that we only got one car to the flag and that George was not able to show what he was capable of in the car on race day, having performed very strongly up to that point in the weekend.
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“We didn’t have huge breakthroughs, but we moved forward a little bit. We put a small amount on the leaders Red Bull, and we are starting to get on terms with, and maybe just nose a whisker in front of, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins.
“Was it expected? Broadly yes, because the performance level in Australia was not markedly different to that in the other two tracks so far this year.
“Different yes to Red Bull, but not a completely different animal compared to the rest of the field.
“I think the biggest shift in Australia was that Red Bull were a little bit more off form in qualifying compared to the rest of the grid, and that sort of closed up the field.
“But if you look at the relative pace of our car to the Ferrari, our car to the Aston Martin, it’s been close-ish all year,” Allison concluded.
