“It is a bit like waiting for Christmas” - Mercedes technical chief James Allison excited to witness the progress of the W15

Mercedes technical director James Allison believes the time before preseason is like a Christmas period when it comes to the development of the car. Speaking in a team interview at the launch of the W15, the British technical chief felt that the initial few races including preseason tests will be a period full of anticipation and intrigue when it comes to the progress of the car.

Allison reckons that several elements of the car such as aerodynamics will be worked on at this time of the year. He explained that most of the parts or improvements to be worked on for the European leg of the season would be developed now. The Mercedes technical head believes most of the unknowns that crop up in the initial few races will lead to a lot of experiments before they bring an improvised version of the W15 to the European races.

Asked how this time of the year feels for him from a personal perspective, the Mercedes technical director said:

“It is a bit like waiting for Christmas. It is exciting. You want it to arrive, and you want the days to fly by. You also know that the Christmas Day opening of those presents might bring not bring you all the good fortune you wish for. It’s not a relaxing time of year, but it is very exhilarating. I would not want it any other way and having not been in the Technical Director's seat for a couple of seasons, I’m beginning to remember the usual feelings of anticipation and trepidation.”

“Most of the lap time you can put on a car comes from aerodynamics during a season, but precisely what we find and in what area is still unknown. The aerodynamic department is, at this stage of the year, planning to put a good amount of effort in to front wings, rear wings, floor, brake drums, brake ducts, bodywork, all of which could produce things that might arrive for the European season. Several of those programmes will not come to fruition, but that is just the nature of experimentation. But if you try hard enough over a wide enough range of experiments, then enough of them will come good in that time scale and there should be a decent package to put on the car by the time we return to Europe.”

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Mercedes technical director reckons the W15 is an improvement of the W14

Mercedes technical director James Allison claims the W15 is a brand new car addressing the weaknesses of its predecessor. He feels the design process of their 2024 F1 car will involve understanding the weaknesses of their car and making adjustments prior to the summer break. Allison states that most of the car’s strengths and weaknesses will only be revealed once it is put to the test against its competitors.

Asked about the design approach taken by the team for the W15, the Mercedes technical director spoke in a team interview saying:

“The design of any car is an iterative process. And a long one at that. It stretches back to last year. A new car enables the team to make bigger alterations that are not possible during the year. These are decisions that are taken during the preceding summer. But the main approach is unchanging from year-to-year, and that is to try to deal with the things that you've identified as weaknesses on your current car.”

“Those weaknesses are revealed most starkly when the competition starts. But you get a reasonably good idea quite early in the year of what the Achilles heel might be of a car. From there it is about balancing out working to improve those Achilles heels and building on what has worked well. You look to your available resources from varying departments and get them to focus their attentions on fixing the issues.”

Analysing the design approach from the images released by Mercedes, it is evidently clear that they have steered away from their previous car’s concept. The Silver Arrows team did some shakedown laps at the Silverstone circuit and their test specification version will be the one that reveals more details in Bahrain. After finishing second in the championship, Mercedes are keen to have a better start to their 2024 campaign and return to winning ways.