James Allison, Technical Director at Mercedes, finally has a reason to smile. After months of trailing behind top teams, with drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggling to keep up, the W15 made a surprising comeback in Montréal. Allison is surprised that the car’s potential wasn’t realized sooner.
From the start of the season, and indeed since the rule changes of 2022, Mercedes has been lagging behind competitors Red Bull and Ferrari. This year, even McLaren, a customer team of the German manufacturer, was added to that list. However, during the Canadian Grand Prix, there was a glimmer of hope for the Brackley team. George Russell secured pole position at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and finished third on Sunday.
What Changed with the W15?
Technical Director James Allison explains what changed with the W15 in the Beyond the Grid podcast. “The car has been deceiving us since the start of the year,” joked the engineer. “The biggest pitfall was that we could control it in slow corners and in fast corners, but never at the same time. Now we’ve finally found that balance. This gives the drivers much more confidence because they know how the car will react.”
“We’ve been working on this all year,” continued Allison. “To get the aerodynamics right, we’re constantly tinkering with springs and rods.” In the run-up to the Canadian Grand Prix, it seemed they had finally succeeded. Was there a ‘eureka moment’ in Brackley? “When you say eureka, you’re happy that you’ve solved a particular problem first,” said the Mercedes boss. “For us, it was more of a ‘how could we be so stupid’ moment. We have improved the car during the season, but we hadn’t tackled the fundamental problems.”
Is the Car Really Improved?
According to Toto Wolff, it remains to be seen whether the car has actually improved compared to the other teams. The Spanish Grand Prix, with its combination of slow and fast corners, is the ultimate test. Allison is convinced that the W15 should be able to win on all circuits. “I would be surprised if we are immediately on pole in Barcelona,” he admitted. “But I’m sure we can now make the car as fast as the rest.”
