The introduction of the new technical regulations regarding the ground effects dealt a severe blow to Mercedes. The last victory for the eight-time constructors’ champion’s dates back to the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix for George Russell. It’s still their only win in this era so far.
While for Lewis Hamilton the last win goes back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. For the the seven-time world champion this is in fact the longest winless streak of his F1 career.
Despite the difficulties, both Hamilton and Russell decided to put their trust once again in the Brackley’s team, extending their contracts until 2025.
For what concern the team, there was a change of course with technical director Mike Elliott and chief technical officer James Allison swapping roles back in April.
In anticipation of the development of next year’s single-seater, Allison reckons that the presence of the drivers in the factory can be of great help.
“The race weekends, you get your greatest access to the drivers because you’re with each other for many hours – he explained – But it’s also a very fractious environment to interact because the pressure of doing well at the circuit means that it’s just slightly less objective than if you’re doing it back at home.
“The drivers have been good enough to put aside time for us in a slightly cooler environment of home.
“That has proved useful; it’s proved helpful for ranking the problems they have, for seeing the opportunities and just making sure that the things that we are working on are well aligned with what they’re describing.”
Photo credit: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton has also revealed that he is finding it inspiring by going to the factory and seeing the Mercedes team pushing and working hard to reach the top of Formula 1 once again:
“The other day, I was in the aero department — it’s clear that no one’s happy with where we are and how we’ve done this year, but it was massively encouraging to see how driven everyone was.
“Everyone’s heads were down everyone was at their stations and clearly pushing incredibly hard. For me, that was inspiring to see.”
