“Internally, we’re saying: ‘Let them say that’” - Mercedes director unveils how they’re using current ‘negative narrative’ as motivation

James Allison, the technical director of Mercedes, revealed a different and optimistic approach that the team is following as they face "negative narratives" after two tough F1 seasons.

It has been well over a season since Mercedes won their last race, which has affected their chances of fighting for the championship. This happened after the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced in the 2022 F1 season. Their drop in performance has been an interesting aspect for the analysts to follow, which has come with a lot of criticism and "sympathy," as Allison said.

Speaking on the Performance People podcast, Allison revealed that the team has been facing the "negative narratives" boldly and using them to motivate themselves.

"I think the sense that we’re all in this together and that people have written our future for us – ‘the once-great team now in decline’ – all of the negative narrative that can come around with that."

"As long as, internally, we’re saying: ‘Let them say that.’"

Allison is optimistic about Mercedes making a comeback soon, which will be their answer to all the criticism the team has faced. He said:

"That’s their job, they’ve got to say something. But our job is to show them they’re wrong. And imagine how good that’s going to feel, when they’ve all been looking sympathetically at us – or with faux sympathy in our direction."

"We’ll just suck that up and go: ‘Okay, right, we’re going to work on this and we’re going to come back and we’re going to show them.’"

Along with Allison, team principal Toto Wolff is also confident of the team making a comeback in the 2024 season.

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Mercedes boss confident of battling Red Bull in 2024 F1 season

The Brackley-based team has been hunting for a world championship since Lewis Hamilton lost in the final race of the 2021 season. However, they haven't come close because of the new regulations.

Their last race win came at the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP as George Russell took the top spot. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen won 19 out of the 22 races held in the 2023 season.

Despite this huge gap, Toto Wolff is optimistic about battling Red Bull in 2024 with their development. He told Sky Sports:

"We have a gap to the leaders. But the two teams, at Brixworth and Brackley, are so motivated."

"We have so many good things in the pipeline, so many new things, and, with all the learning we had, [we are] really in a good place to see what’s coming together."

Mercedes finished the 2023 season in second place, ahead of Ferrari by three points after the race in Abu Dhabi. They are hoping to "take the momentum" and develop a car that is competitive enough at the top.