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Key Mercedes figure outlines areas that will be crucial in Red Bull championship fight

He believes that the team do have a chance if they get an important aspect right

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 17 February 2024 12:57

Mercedes technical director James Allison has given two key areas that the team have focused on with their new W15 car, citing them as important to challenge F1 defending champions Red Bull.

The Brackley-based outfit are seeking to get back to winning ways in 2024, having not managed to claim a single race victory last season as Red Bull dominated from start to finish.

What's more, star driver Lewis Hamilton announced over the winter break that he would leave the team for pastures new at the end of the upcoming season, instead moving to Ferrari.

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Mercedes, therefore, are desperate to celebrate the 39-year-old in style, by providing him a car in which he can add to his Formula 1 record 103 race victories.

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If they are to do that, the team will have to drastically improve on their 2023 form, despite managing to claim second in the constructors' championship in that particular season.

Now Allison - who was brought back into the team to help them get back to winning ways - has highlighted the team's focus throughout the off-season, putting their potential gains down to two main areas on the car.

"A big focus has been on improving the previous car's unpredictable rear axle," he said during the team's official season launch.

"We have worked hard to ensure that both axles, but particularly the rear axle, retain better control of the tyre than on the W14. There's also been some housekeeping on areas in which we had room for improvement, including the DRS effect, and pit stop performance.

"With this current generation of cars, so much of the performance comes from how the floor interacts with the road.

"Whether or not a car is effective is down to how well that floor is permitted to behave aerodynamically."

Allison and the team will be able to see whether this approach has worked when teams return for pre-season testing in Bahrain later in February.

Red Bull Mercedes James Allison W15