Mercedes had a rollercoaster year of emotions in 2024, but fell further behind the competition – Envious glances in the direction of McLaren
“This is not a year I would like to repeat,” says Mercedes technical director James Allison. The Silver Arrows have failed to achieve their goals for the third year in a row and were far from the championship they were aiming for.
Although they took a total of four victories this year, four times as many as in the two years before that combined, Mercedes has fallen behind in relative terms. In 2023, they still took second place behind Red Bull, but in 2024 they fell back to fourth place – the only worse year since their return was 2012.
And while the competition from McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull was in the World Cup fight until the end, Mercedes was left behind even before that.
In a video by the team, Allison speaks of an emotionally very difficult year. “It was a real rollercoaster ride with extreme disappointment at the beginning of the year, followed by a feeling of recovery, then a little unease, then a few rays of hope again,” he says.
Envy when looking at McLaren
In general, Mercedes has the feeling of having missed an opportunity: “We have not reached the standards we would have liked. It’s no fun at all watching others win championships and titles while we’re just spectators,” he emphasizes.
But: According to him, the tough year also shows one of the best sides of Formula 1. “It’s so hard to get it right. Those who do get it right deserve it and you can only take your hat off to them because they deserve it,” says Allison.
“When I saw the smiles on the McLaren guys’ faces this weekend, I thought: they deserve it. I know what it feels like and I envy them for it, but they deserve it. It just makes you want to experience it again yourself, and for our team.”
The chance for rehabilitation is coming
And of course, with the Silver Arrows, that’s the goal again for the coming season. Although the last race is just behind the team, the whole focus is already on the future.
“That’s the great thing about this sport. Whatever happened in the past is in the past, and you get the chance to redeem yourself with the next car, the next race, the next season,” said Allison.
“Hopefully, the competition at the top will be so close that we can have a good winter and be in contention right from the start of the next season.”