Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Yas Marina, 2024

The coming Formula 1 season could be even more competitive than last year’s championship, Mercedes’ technical director James Allison believes.

Seven different drivers won races for four teams last year. But as the current generation of rules enters its fourth and final season, Allison believes the chasing pack will be closer to the ‘big four’ teams this year.

“It will be a fiercely fought championship from the off,” said Allison. “At this stage of the regulations, the cars are converging in terms of performance.

“There will be multiple winners, and it’s possible that we will see even more teams than the four that scored victories last year taking to the top step of the podium.”

Having four different race-winning teams across a season is not highly unusual – it previously happened in 2021. What made last season special was that all four teams were consistently competitive, taking at least four victories apiece.

F1 last had more than four different race-winning teams in 2012. On that occasion six teams won races, but half of those took just one victory each.

Mercedes endured a mixed season last year but scored four victories. Allison says the team has focused on addressing the weaknesses of their previous car with the new W16, which it revealed today.

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“Being the fourth year of these regulations on the chassis side, the cars are in the more mature phase,” he said. “Big gains in lap time are harder to come by but we’ve been concentrating on making improvements in the areas that held us back last year.

“Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session.”

However with a significant change in regulations coming next year, including new power units, Allison said Mercedes will have an eye on preparing for the opportunity to steal a march on the competition in 2026.

“It’s one of the largest regulation changes in the sport’s history. Every team must decide where to spend their resource to both compete on track this year and set themselves up for 2026 and beyond.

“We’re excited for that challenge and working hand-in-hand between Brackley and Brixworth to be as competitive as we can be this year and build for success next year.”

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