Mercedes chief addresses controversial F1 design ahead of 2024 car launch

Lewis Hamilton talking with his engineers in Monte Carlo — Photo: © LAT Images

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Mercedes chief addresses controversial F1 design ahead of 2024 car launch

Mercedes will be hoping that their 2024 F1 car will bring them much closer to Red Bull

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Monday 18 December 2023 13:57

Mercedes technical director James Allison has denied that the team's zeropod concept was solely to blame for their lack of competitiveness in 2023.

A collective holding of breath was felt around the paddock when the Silver Arrows unveiled their new-look design in 2022.

Wheeling out a car that appeared to be without sidepods, playfully dubbed a 'zeropod' concept, was an all or nothing play for Mercedes.

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Unfortunately for Toto Wolff and the rest of the team, it proved to be the latter, with the concept eventually ditched in its entirety during the 2023 season.

Mercedes stuck to their guns over the zeropod design at the start of 2023

The concept was officially abandoned by the team at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix

The team faced much flak for sticking with the design, but Allison has insisted that there was more going on than seemed the case from the outside looking in.

Mercedes sidepods not to blame for F1 failure

“Well, I don’t quite see the world the same way you guys do, looking at a sidepod and deciding that’s a concept," he told Sky Sports.

“We definitely took a path with our car and I would say that’s from the tip of the nose to the very back of the tail which was not a competitive one.

Mercedes technical director, James Allison

“The most visually noticeable aspect were our sidepods of course, but by no means the definitive factor.

“It was not right from front to back and that’s the thing we’ve had to learn and have to deal with.

“That’s taken us longer than we would have liked but the sidepods are maybe emblematic of a team that took too long to figure out which way was up but by no means the distinguishing feature that sealed our fate.”

Mercedes Toto Wolff Sky Sports Monaco Grand Prix 2023 James Allison