Mercedes Technical Director James Allison said the 2024 Formula 1 season was one “of lost opportunity” for the team.
At the outset, Mercedes was fourth fastest and missing pace compared to rival outfits Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
A mid-season turnaround saw Mercedes win three races in four before the summer break, but the Brackley-based outfit hit another slump when the season got back underway in August.
Despite a return to winning ways in Las Vegas thanks to George Russell’s impressive exploits, Allison didn’t rate Mercedes’ 2024 campaign highly.
“It’s been a right old roller coaster of extreme disappointment at the start of the year, followed by a sense of recovery, then a bit of malaise and some more flashes,” Allison said on the Mercedes Race Debrief.
“The overall sense in the team is one of lost opportunity.
“We have not hit the benchmarks we would have wished to.
“Watching other people earn and win championships while we’re spectators is no fun at all.
“So it’s been a tough year.”
Being beaten has given Mercedes ‘desire’ to get back to F1 winning ways
Mercedes ultimately wound up fourth in the Constructors’ standings with 468 points, 121 behind third-placed Red Bull and 198 behind title-winners McLaren.
Moreover, its fluctuating performance was a source of constant frustration with Mercedes employing an experimental setup on Russell’s W15 in the final round of the season as it continued searching for answers.
Despite the frustration, Allison relishes the competition, calling it “one of the best bits of F1.
“It is so fiercely difficult,” he added. “It is so hard to get everything right.
“Those that do have properly earned it and you can but doff your cap to them because they deserve it.
“So when I saw the smiles on the McLaren guys this weekend, I thought, well, they’ve earned that and I know what it feels like and I envy them for it, but they’ve earned it.
“And it just fills you with the desire to experience that again yourself and for our team.”
To do that, Mercedes must overcome its deficiencies in hotter conditions.
Mercedes’ victory in Vegas came thanks to the W15’s prowess in cooler conditions.
Team Principal Toto Wolff told select media, including Motorsport Week after Russell’s win in Sin City, that the squad needs to balance.
“We’ve been strong in Silverstone, we’ve been strong in Spa and then here in Las Vegas,” Wolff said.
“I think it’s just keeping the car in a sweet spot, the tyres in the optimum window.
“It would be important to find a balance for next year.”
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