Mercedes explains small difference with Red Bull: 'Stopped development in July'

Mercedes was once again hugely dominant in 2020. No other team was as dominant as Mercedes, which this year won its seventh world title in a row for both drivers and manufacturers. 2020 seemed to be the year that Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen could also join the battle, but Lewis Hamilton was the only dominant factor this season.

The gap did narrow towards the end of the season compared to Mercedes, but technical director James Allison has a good explanation for that. "We stopped earlier than normal. Because of the lockdown we also lost seven weeks of time in the wind tunnel. A season normally lasts about 35 weeks, so we already had a fifth less time," explains Allison in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport.

Finished development early

As a result, Mercedes has had relatively little time during the season to further develop the car and Allison indicates that they already had the vision of 2021 for a number of races. "Our last aerodynamic development was completed in mid-July, a month and a half ahead of schedule," so before the third Grand Prix of the season the vision went into the new year.

The fact that the focus was on 2021 at an early stage can also be seen from the amount of upgrades they have introduced this season. "The latest upgrades were put on the car at Spa. In total we have included three upgrades this season. The first in Austria, then in Silverstone and finally the smallest upgrade in Spa," concludes Allison.