Mercedes chief's honest feelings about Red Bull after 'slap down' from F1 rivals

27 January 2024 , 07:00

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James Allison says he's had 'lots of fun' in the last couple of years despite his Mercedes team being unable to stop their Red Bull rivals (Image: Getty Images)

James Allison insists he has had "lots of fun" as Mercedes technical director despite his team living in the shadow of their Red Bull rivals.

Having previously held that role, he only returned to it last year in a high-profile job swap with Mike Elliott, who has since left the team. Allison had become chief technical officer in 2021, but the swap was made by Mercedes in the hope of improving their on-track fortunes.

After all, it wasn't so long ago that the Silver Arrows were themselves dominating Formula 1. But eight consecutive constructors' championship successes between 2014 and 2021 came to an end with a significant change in the sport's technical rules.

With those new regulations, Red Bull put the rest of the grid in a chokehold which remains strong today. Mercedes have largely been unable to compete and have been forced to watch on with jealousy as their rivals run wild.

Naturally, Allison would much prefer his team to still be on top - but he insists it has been an enjoyable experience to be back trackside despite the current balance of power. "You say it's no fun, actually it's lots of fun," he said.

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"It isn't as much fun as winning, that's definitely true, but you have to sort of love the whole of the sport. It involves taking your licks when you haven't done a good enough job."

Red Bull chief Christian Horner has often, in the last couple of years, spoken of the hard work his team put in while they were second-best to prepare for the time when they were back on top. Looking ahead, Allison feels his squad needs to be doing the same now so they will be ready to take the next chance when it eventually comes along.

He said: "I think one of the things to admire about Red Bull's current performance is that they stuck gamely to their task in quite a long period in the wilderness. They are now enjoying the fruits of that well-placed labour.

"It's far from unenjoyable being in that position, as long as the team is collectively confident that it's making the right moves to try to re-establish itself as a force to be reckoned with. There's loads and loads of fun to be had in that.

"It's always a roller coaster of getting your hopes up, being slapped down a bit by the racing gods and then gathering your skirts again to have another push. I hope that that journey upwards is steep and strong and secure, but it will be great fun trying to drive it at whatever pace we can to give our rivals a good old fight."

Daniel Moxon