Former F1 racer smells new theory behind Mercedes bringing back James Allison in Technical Director role
Stefan Johansson believes James Allison will be able to get a good reading of the car.
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James Allison. Image via Sportskeeda.
Mercedes AMG Petronas have been doing everything possible to make things work. They recently announced a shake-up of their technical structure. The team replaced Mike Elliott with James Allison as their technical director. The latter is not new to the job. He had been the team’s technical director from 2017 to 2021. After his departure, Elliott took over the role.
Stefan Johansson, a former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans winner claims Mercedes could be fast but the struggle lies in getting into the peak operating window. It holds them back from showcasing their true potential. The team believed in their zero-pod concept and stuck with it for the second year straight. They relied on the concept as it showed potential in the wind tunnel. Johansson insists Mercedes brought back Allison to help them widen their operating window.
Johansson told PlanetF1, “Obviously, when they launched the zero pod concept last year, I’m sure they believed that they had the magic bullet before the testing started, but they very quickly found out that they had a very serious porpoising problem, which probably stopped them finding out exactly what other issues the car had, until much later into the season”
Stefan Johansson is certain James Allison will guide Mercedes to an upward trajectory
The former Ferrari and McLaren driver believes the one-two finishes in Brazil last season contributed to Mercedes following the same concept for the 2023 season. He added, “I think that’s probably one of the reasons why Allison’s coming back again because he obviously has a massive amount of experience and may have a better feel for what the whole package should be like, especially now when they are two years into the new rules package and there is enough information across the pitlane to see what works and what doesn’t.”
Stefan Johansson feels James Allison is special just like the Red Bull mastermind Adrian Newey. Allison played a key role in two of the most successful cars in Formula 1. The Ferrari F2004 and Mercedes W11. The 66-year-old believes James Allison’s presence in Mercedes and involvement with the W14 will have a huge impact, and push the team forward.
Earlier this season, Toto Wolff admitted the team made a mistake with the car’s concept. However, with Allison back in the team’s technical department, the engineer can help the team. Mercedes rely on his expertise at the moment. They are getting restless and will also have to provide their drivers with a championship-winning car soon. But the question is how long will it take? The clock is ticking.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)