James Allison (Mercedes): “We never rest on our laurels”

Lewis Hamilton describes the W11 as the best Mercedes that he has ever flown. What areas of development have you focused on?

We proceed like all the stables on the plateau. We are looking to increase aero downforce, unlock more engine power, and make tire management easier. The current process began in 2017 with a fast car, but one that was moving on a razor's edge.

We worked to understand the reasons that made the car capricious and inconsistent, and we improved it little by little until we transformed it into a weapon capable of operating in a much wider operating window.

What makes your team so strong?

We are fortunate to have strong financial backing and to be able to rely on the support of our parent company, stability within the team, and constant leadership. But the key, in my eyes, is our corporate culture.

We never rest on our laurels, we never have the impression that the result is due to us because we won the year before. Everyone on the team is moving in the same direction to move the car forward and create an environment conducive to performance where all the cogs fit together correctly. It’s not just one thing.

You have been untouchable on two different circuits. How worrying is this for the competition?

In this question, you are assuming that every weekend is a trip to the park. If you were in our shoes, you would see that this is not the case. Certainly, Austria had not been successful for us in recent years and the 2nd weekend there was more than decent.

But we had to fight during the opening round. We expect to have to fight and develop the car all season. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you will be overwhelmed.

The first three races did not take place in oppressive temperatures so we would like to know if the car displays a similar pace and coaxes the tires as well in high heat.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Hungarian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Budapest, in AUTO issue 2270hebdo, always available in digital version and on newsstands.