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James Allison talks about the Mercedes W14’s strengths and weaknesses, and says Red Bull are “going to be an extremely worthy opposition to hunt down and in due course overtake”.
James Allison has reassumed the technical leadership role at Mercedes, and he is now fully focused on improving Mercedes’ 2023 car.
During his appearance on the F1 Nation podcast, James gave his view on the car’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Well it’s reliable, touch wood, so that’s a definite strength” the Briton said.
“It’s got a very quick pair of punters pedalling it round [Lewis Hamilton and George Russell].
“It’s better than most of the grid out there but until it’s the quickest one, it will always feel like a weak car to all of us.
“It’s adequately kind to its tires, but not as good as some of the cars that we’ve made in the past. It’s got more downforce than most of the cars on the grid, but not sufficient.
“Its handling characteristics leave a little to be desired and need to be worked on, for sure. But, you know, none of this stuff is revelatory.
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“We’ve been talking about it most weekends and, and it’s part of what this team needs to address to get winning material back in our hands.”
Allison was then asked which teams he sees as Mercedes’ main opposition this season.
“I’m trying not to think really in those terms, just concentrating on what are the areas of opportunity on the car,” he said.
“How quickly can we fill those opportunities with hardware or different approaches, with the expectation that that will improve our chances at any given weekend?
“The sooner we can do that, and on the steepest slope possible, the better our chances will be in any given weekend and up against any given team and in the championship.
“But we’re completely realistic about the significant performance of the Red Bull and particularly Max.
“They’re going to be an extremely worthy opposition to hunt down and in due course overtake,” Allison concluded.
