Chandhok defends Allison and Wolff: “Firing them won't solve the problems”

Mercedes in clear difficulty

No victory since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, no podium in the first three races of the 2024 season and no points in the last Australian Grand Prix, which ended with a double retirement. The performance of the is decidedly unrecognizable Mercedes in the last two years compared to the triumphal period born from the introduction of the power units in 2014, with repeated and uninterrupted successes since then in both the drivers' (excluding 2021) and constructors' championship.

2024 uphill

However, since the return of the ground-effect cars in 2022, the Brackley team has no longer managed to find the level of competitiveness of previous years, during which Hamilton won six world titles, coming close to seventh (as well as eighth in his career) in 2021. Taking into account the first three races of this year, the W15 does not meet the objectives and the ambitions indicated by James Allisonwho became Technical Director last year replacing Mike Elliot.

Allison and Wolff: Are they responsible?

The British engineer is now under scrutiny, to the point that some commentators are starting to consider the 56-year-old's profile unsuitable for the team's revival project. His like that of the team principal Toto Wolff, also in possession of a third of the team. But are they really the ones responsible for the current crisis of the Anglo-German team? For the former F1 driver Karun Chandhoknow a commentator for Sky Sports UK, the problems are different.

Red Bull target

The 40-year-old Indian does not believe Allison and Wolff are the causes of the difficulties, which he says could be resolved with a solution: “I don't think you can blame just one person on a team – has explained – Toto and James are the leaders of the team and have greater responsibility for overall performance than those who work in individual departments, but they are not the ones who design the car or take care of its details. I don't think firing Toto or James will solve the problem. What they need to do is understand what Red Bull did well and how they managed to achieve these extraordinary performances in this era of cars. If that means getting some people from Red Bull could be an answer. This is where Toto and James come in. It's about making sure the team has the right people. Toto Wolff always has elegant words and phrases to move the story forward and focus on the next race or season, but the lack of progress must have made him lose patience.”