James Ellison: I hope the worst is over

Mercedes technical director James Allison is cautiously optimistic about the team’s progress…

Question: The season for Mercedes has not been very successful so far. Can you get more out of the W15?
James Ellison: Everything went a little better than normal in Imola on Friday. Let’s see if we can keep this form going as the weekend progresses. I will be careful to say that there are signs of some progress, but it will take time.

It’s always difficult when the car isn’t in the shape you expected. Not the most pleasant situation. On the other hand, if you start to understand the reasons and improve, it’s nice. Hopefully the worst is over and we are now on the rise.

Q: There are a lot of personnel changes in the team. Is this a normal situation, or are you preparing for a new era and need new strength?
James Ellison: No, I think it’s quite normal. Formula 1 teams nowadays have many employees. Every year some leave, others come – this applies to all teams.

Question: This week the transfer to Ferrari of Jerome D’Ambrosio and Loic Serra was confirmed, it became known about the departure of the chief aerodynamicist. Are you afraid of losing so many important players? Can you explain why they decided to switch teams?
James Ellison: I don’t think there’s any point in talking about their motivation. It is clear that the team must have a critical mass of experienced and good people. And we wouldn’t want experienced and good people to leave us. But we recruit experienced and good people at the same speed. It’s our job to make sure they choose to be with us instead of somewhere else.

Q: There are a lot of rumors about George Russell’s teammate next year. What would you prefer: youth or experience?
James Ellison: Fortunately, it is not up to me to make this choice. I leave it to our leaders.

Q: One of the problems with ground effect cars is the need to balance efficiency in fast and slow sections. When a machine works well in one case but not in another, you strengthen the weak side by limiting the strong side. How far have you come in understanding this aspect?
James Ellison: We’re moving towards this gradually. The circuit in Imola is one of the easiest in this respect; the speed range in the corners is not that great. Everyone faces this, we are a little slower than others in solving this problem. But in the coming races the situation should change for the better.

Q: From an engineer’s perspective, what can you say about Kimi Antonelli’s initial testing?
James Ellison: It was fun to hear the engineers describe how they handled it. He is a young, enthusiastic racer, very fast. Until recently he had not driven a Formula 1 car, but after a few laps it felt like he had been driving one forever.

He approached this generation of ground effect machines with an open heart. Yes, he feels everything you expect from him. But his brain isn’t polluted by previous machines, so he just accepts them as they are, tells us their weaknesses and strengths, and helps the engineers improve them. This is a promising young racer.

Question: A few races ago Toto Wolff said that Mercedes had problems with the physical properties of this car. Do you agree with him?
James Ellison: I think any car that is not on pole has problems with its physical characteristics. The goal of every team is to achieve more than its opponents. And if we don’t take the lead, it means we haven’t done as well as others.