P1racenews AI automatic summary:
James Allison has admitted Mercedes failed to capitalise on an F1 rule change for the 2023 season, despite pushing for it in the first place.
In order to address concerns regarding the physical impact of the porpoising phenomenon, F1 raised the cars’ floor-edge by 15mm as part of the new ground-effect regulations introduced in 2022. Mercedes, who experienced extreme bouncing with their W13 challenger, had been advocating for safety changes throughout the season. The porpoising problem mostly disappeared during the 2023 campaign, although it briefly reappeared for Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix. While the rule adjustments helped resolve the issue, Mercedes’ technical director, Allison, admitted that the team missed out on potential performance gains by being overly cautious. Their internal debate focused on whether or not to lower the car and operate within a smaller window, which would make the cars less bouncy but potentially limit downforce. Ultimately, Mercedes chose to err on the side of caution, preferring to search for downforce in challenging areas. However, in hindsight, they realized they could have taken advantage of the 15mm adjustment and achieved better performance sooner.
