Mercedes drivers working outside the “fractious environment” to help in car development according to James Allison

Mercedes drivers are choosing to work outside the very fractious environment of the paddock to provide more and more inputs with the car. James Allison revealed in his latest interview that the time with the drivers inside the paddock can be quite fractious because of the intensity of the race weekends.

A better approach, according to the Mercedes technical director, has been found where the duo connects from their homes in a much cooler environment. Mercedes has had a very disappointing season in 2023 where the team has arguably taken a step back from even 2022.

Last season, the team was still able to pick up a win and be a consistent podium contender. This season, that has not happened, as teams like McLaren have come to the fore.

For Mercedes, the challenge early in the season was battling Aston Martin and Ferrari. As the season has progressed, McLaren has joined the fold and even skipped some of the competition.

As quoted by Motorsport.com, James Allison touched on the adaptation and commitment that both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have made to help develop the car. He said:

"The race weekends, you get your greatest access to the drivers because you're with each other for many hours. 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."

He added:

"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."

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Mercedes aiming to put things right for the 2024 F1 season

Talking about the 2024 F1 season, James Allison said that the team may not have made the kind of leaps that McLaren has this season. But the German unit, according to him, has been able to understand the car much better. He continued via the aforementioned source:

"I feel like all of us have a pretty clear-sighted view of what we want to do with the car. This championship, while we haven't made the really impressive progress that McLaren have, we have nevertheless been charting a path through the season that gives us a very clear idea of what we need to put right.

"So that makes next year very exciting to look forward to and this period of the year extremely enjoyable."

Mercedes is bringing a major upgrade package this weekend in Austin and the team will be looking to return to the podium after two races where it missed the rostrum.