by VALERIO BARRETTA
The Mercedes seen by Allison
There Mercedes admired in Canada and the one glimpsed in Monte-Carlo gives its fans hope for the rest of the year. Montmeló – track on which the Brackley team used to dominate (seven victories from 2014 to 2021, only the 2016 crash prevented the en plein) – as usual it will be a very important test bed to understand the strength of a car.
In view of the Barcelona GP, the technical director James Allison commented on the recent improvements made to the car, with a front wing presented in Monaco that has paid off and could be “copied” by Red Bull, and other developments that will be diluted in the next races.
Allison’s words
“I think the thing that has been bothering us since the beginning of the year was that the car could be good in a slow corner or a fast corner, but not both at the same time. In the last two or three races we modified the car so that it had a reasonable balance between high and low speeds: means that the driver can trust the front and rear axle in both a fast and slow corner. Balance is important for the driver, it’s just a matter of understanding how to make the car go at high and low speed correctly and to take corners correctly“, Allison explained to Beyond the Grid. “We struggled all year with the springs, bars and all the mechanical accessories of the car, but we tried to attack the aerodynamic characteristics of the car“
“Was this a ‘Eureka’ for us? Those come when you joyfully understand something that no one has ever understood before. This is more of a moment like ‘Oh God, how could we be so stupid?‘, in which you see the path to follow and you should have seen it before“, continued the Briton, who then launched into a prediction for the rest of the season. “I think that in 2024 we will be able to make the car competitive and not fear any track. I think the characteristics of Montreal can make our fans think that we are already at that point. Although I’m pretty sure we will make a good impression in the next races, I would be surprised if we were in pole position in the next one. But I am absolutely sure that in the next period we can be as fast as anyone else“.
