Mercedes man warns Red Bull they ‘won’t be sleeping easy’ amidst ‘apprehension and fright’ over F1 2024
Mercedes' recently-renewed Technical Director James Allison reckons Red Bull will lose sleep over the thoughts of the team's chances in 2024 as he said he is feeling "frightened" since noone can gauge the performance of the rival teams.
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James Allison, (image via PlanetF1)
In Formula 1’s latest 2023 season, Mercedes has one of their worst campaigns since the their debut in the pinnacle of motorsports in 2010 as the rebranded Brawn GP team. The Brackley outfit could not get a single Grand Prix victory despite being deemed as the most successful F1 team during the turbo-hybrid era of the 2010s. Their two racers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton did bring a total of 8 podium finishes for the team, but they were not enough to match Red Bull’s results as the Austrian team defeated Mercedes to capture the topmost position in the Constructors’ Championship Standings.
Ever since Lewis Hamilton’s epic defeat at the hands of Max Verstappen in 2021, Mercedes have not been able to go back to their winning ways. While they did get one Grand Prix win in ’22 thanks to then-newcomer George Russell, they failed to repeat that feat at any of the subsequent F1 races. But in the upcoming 2024 season of Formula 1, they are once again hoping to see a change in their course as they are reportedly taking on a new approach while building their racecar. Thus, Mercedes’ Technical Director James Allison was asked about his expectations from the new campaign and he gave an honest answer.
James Allison’s contract with the Silver Arrows recently got renewed, and in its wake, he talked about the advancements that Mercedes hope to make in 2024. While elaborating the way he feels about the upcoming Championship season, Allison used the adjectives “frightened” and “apprehensive”.
It's impossible at this time of year to be anything other than apprehensive, coupled with excited, coupled with frightened. Those are always the emotions that you feel, and I would imagine that even in Red Bull, after a year of such good performance, they will not be sleeping easy in their beds either because no one knows what everyone else will deliver.James Allison talked about Mercedes’ chances in 2024, as reported by Express UK.
James Allison signs up for several more seasons of partnership with Mercedes with recent multi-year contract
In 2017, James Allison joined the Mercedes AMG Patronas F1 Team as their Technical Director. The Briton became instrumental in helping Lewis Hamilton reach the peak of the sport in 2017, ’18, ’19, and ’20. Allison has since become an integral part of the Brackley outfit, and his contract with them came to an end in 2023. But going forward, he has agreed to prolong his stay with Mercedes since he has reportedly signed a new three-year deal with them.
Mercedes’ performance in the last couple of years has not been too hopeful despite their main rivals Red Bull impressing everyone with back-to-back title wins. Thus, the German manufacturers need to put in all their efforts towards ensuring the best results for both their racers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. It remains to be seen how James Allison and the other key players in the team are able to pull off the task of getting Mercedes back to the winning ways by surpassing the heavyweight rivals like Red Bull and Ferrari.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)