F1 | Allison: “News work, but Montreal helped us”

The last round in Canada showcased a Mercedes that at times seemed reborn, on pole on Saturday and fighting for the podium on Sunday, with such performances that pushed the team to feel a bitter aftertaste because there was opportunity to do something more without certain errors.

However, although Montréal has suddenly turned on the W15, on the other hand the Star team itself is aware that one swallow does not make a summer and that the characteristics of the Canadian track may have played a key role in the good performance of the single-seater.

For this reason, James Allison pushed on the brake pedal after a good weekend in variable conditions, indicating how difficult it will be to repeat the same performances in the next rounds, even if further news should arrive, including a revised surface.

In recent weekends Mercedes has tried to revive the fortunes of a W15 which never gave the desired results, so much so that a few months ago Toto Wolff said that he had almost lost hope and that it was difficult to be optimistic given the large gap experienced by the head rivals. The reference was not only Red Bull, but also Ferrari and McLaren, which had proven to be more competitive than the Star, confirming how a leap in quality could be made.

For this reason, new updates have gradually arrived, including something in the front area, giving up that front wing that had surprised at the presentation with a single cable connecting the flap to the nose, freeing the area for the passage of air. Having abandoned that concept, the W15 was presented in Monaco with a new wing, however mounted only by George Russell, given that Lewis Hamilton had decided not to risk altering the balance during construction during the weekend given the few supplies available .

In Canada both drivers were able to rely on the new unit which, according to Allison, worked as hoped, providing greater advantages in Canada, a track where the aerodynamic aspect counts more, compared to Monaco, a track where mechanical grip plays a more important role. important. The drivers found greater confidence, also because it helped reduce the annoying understeer that the car suffered from in the first part of the championship. If last year the W14s had to struggle with excessive oversteer, this season the opposite problem arose and the new wing helped restore better balance.

“We expected him to perform well. We expected that in Canada he would give a little more than in Monaco, because the Canadian circuit, although unusual, is more normal than the Monegasque one”, declared James Allison in the classic post-match debrief. Brackely team weekend.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Francois Tremblay / Motorsport Images

“So it did, it delivered better performance. It made the car easier to drive, well balanced and made it easier for the drivers instead of it being the thing they had to fight against, which was one of our problems. in the first part of the season”.

According to Allison, now the window for exploiting the car, especially in terms of setup, has widened, but it is too early to say that all the problems have been resolved because the path ahead is still very long: “I think we have widened it substantially. I think there is still a lot to do and we will know for sure when we go to the next circuit, which is Barcelona, ​​because there is a very wide range of corners there. Also, the track is much hotter so it will be quite a severe test for the car,” added the Mercedes technical director.

In the past the Stella had often performed well on the curves of the Barcelona track, but with the decision to change the aerodynamic concept during 2023, certain strengths have also changed, with the car starting to show better performance in the slower corners instead of in high-speed corners. For this reason it will be a real test for the W15, also because on the few tracks with very fast corners, such as Jeddah at the beginning of the season, the single-seater had still shown some signs of difficulty in the relationship between the management of rebounds and the heights to earth to generate load from the bottom.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

While Allison believes the team has improved their car in small steps, he is also aware that further upgrades are needed to ensure the car continues to have the level of performance achieved in Canada.

“The changes we’ve made are definitely making this car better and that’s going to be true at every circuit we go to. But the characteristics of Montreal probably made it feel a little bit faster than what we’ll see in the next few races. I think that’s more likely that we will be competitive, but not at the front.”

“The next circuits are a little more demanding for a car: hot asphalt, higher cornering speeds and other aspects like that. However, having said that, I also know what awaits us. I also know what we are planning to further improve the car,” added Allison.