Red Bull to be beaten by Mercedes? 'Field coming closer together'

Mercedes face an immense task in 2024: the team want to be back in contention for victories but to do so, they will have to deal with the as-yet untouchable Red Bull Racing. Yet James Allison, the technical director who renewed his contract at Mercedes, thinks the Austrian team can be beaten by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell next season.

Red Bull won all Grands Prix in 2023 - apart from the Singapore race. Mercedes, in turn, failed to pick up a single win and realised that the concept of the W14 was not the right one. Therefore, the German team will appear at the start of the new season with totally overhauled car. Red Bull seem to have an advantage in this, as no significant rulebook changes are taking place, so the Austrians can build on the successful RB19.

Allison knows his place with Mercedes

Speaking to Racer.com, James Allison admits that Mercedes is the challenger, not the favourite. At the same time, he hopes the RB14's shortcomings have been fixed with the new car, which should move Mercedes closer to the top of the grid. And not just his own team, but certainly the other teams as well. The British technical director expects the grid to be a lot closer together in 2024.

All the cars were about a second apart in Q1 in 2023. "And that’s not coincidence. It’s a trend that has happened from 2022, continued in 2023, and I think will continue to show itself in 2024, because the gains are getting more and more asymptotic. I think therefore, that in addition to us I hope having worked well, my guess is it’s going to be relatively busier near the top of the grid this time around."

Allison praises Red Bull Racing

Strange as it may sound, Allison says he particularly enjoys having a different mindset - namely, trying to catch up with Red Bull. Although the Brit also admits that winning is always more fun. In any case, he has a lot of respect for the way Red Bull is currently acting, Allison reveals.

"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 and are now enjoying the fruits of that well-placed labor. And 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."