Formula 1’s second major shake-up of its technical regulations within five years means next year’s car must be a success, Mercedes have admitted.
The team which won eight consecutive constructors’ championships after the V6 hybrid turbo era began has only taken a single grand prix victory since the technical regulations were overhauled at the beginning of 2022.Lewis Hamilton has failed to win a race during that time. He recently said the period between now and the start of the next season is critically important for his team.
James Allison, who returned to the position of technical director following the team’s failure to make significant progress with its car last winter, admitted it is especially important they finally crack the latest regulations next year.
“He’s correct in two senses,” said Allison of Hamilton’s comments. “It’ll be a new season and it’s important that we get off the new season on the front foot.
“But more than average-ly so because with 2026 bearing down on us, [for] the car that will need to be engineered in 2025, it’s highly likely that the 2025 car’s going to be close cousins of the 2024 cars. So it’s doubly important to get the 2024 car good.”
F1 has agreed new power unit regulations for the 2026 season, but is yet to define the chassis rules. Once it does, teams are likely to prioritise work on the new rules as it will offer a greater return on their investment.
Allison admitted all the current teams face the same calculation or how to balance their development priorities. “It’s not particular to us but it does sharpen your focus wanting to make sure that we have a car that gives us a good run into 2026 as well as good championships and the fun that brings,” he said.
However he is hopeful they will known soon after the W14’s successor hits the track whether they have achieved their goal.
“Over the years, most of the good cars that I’ve been lucky enough to be around while they’ve happened, the driver gets in and doesn’t exactly say ‘spend your bonus’, but they more or less do,” he said.
“Unlocking potential is not really something that takes very long if the car is well-born and that would be the aim of this one.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
13th October 2023, 7:49
Ahm, right. Isn’t it also just important to finally be quick from the start of the season to be able to fight for a win and the championship?
Todfod (@todfod)
13th October 2023, 8:07
No one seems to want to make a bold claim of challenging for a title yet. Its highly unlikely that anyone can mount a challenge before 2026.
I’d honestly love to see Mercedes challenge Red Bull in 2025… Would be great to see a roles reversal from 2021, where Mercedes are the underdogs challenging a dominant Red Bull.
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
13th October 2023, 7:55
I wouldn’t worry too much, as Hamilton himself said in February 2022 ‘My team don’t make mistakes’.
CP
13th October 2023, 17:26
Oh shut up you Charlie
SteveP
13th October 2023, 17:40
Neither do I, but then having been born in Yorkshire that’s expected. :)
I do sometimes make decisions based on insufficient or misleading data, though.
Coventry Climax
14th October 2023, 0:08
That’s when you neglected to gather more data, and/or misjudged the quantity of data you’d gathered thusfar, and failed to recognise, probably through lack of investigation, that the data you did get, or the quantity and/or quality thereof, could be misleading in the first place.
So now explain how this is different from making a mistake?
And yes, this is meant with a big ;-) as well.
And if you decide not to choose, you still have made a choice.
SteveP
14th October 2023, 10:03
Search not neglected, data withheld – (some) bosses do that at times to re-assure themselves that they hold the power.
“There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance”
MadMax (@madmax)
14th October 2023, 18:43
stupidity in an armchair
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
13th October 2023, 8:06
If we want to win, car has to be fast. Got it.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
13th October 2023, 23:14
The simulation has to be fast as well, or Mercedes start to panic.
SteveP
13th October 2023, 8:17
I think he covered that in the first sentence:
and then gave the follow-up that has the implied ‘so we spend less time with in-season development, and can put more into the following season early development: