James Allison says everyone within the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team has played their part in the outfit’s fourth consecutive Constructors’ Championship triumph, which was confirmed following the result of the United State Grand Prix last weekend.
Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Circuit of the Americas for his ninth win of the season, while Valtteri Bottas’ two wins in Russia and Austria have also gone a long way in helping the team clinch the title with three rounds still to come.
Allison, the Technical Director of Mercedes, says to get such strong results day in and day out needs people to do their jobs ‘exceptionally well’ and this has been the case with this team, who have come out fighting despite the improved performance from Scuderia Ferrari in 2017.
“Fans know this is a complicated sport,” said Allison. “But only the people in the teams really understand how many people have to do their job exceptionally well to make a result like this possible.
“And you don’t just have to do your job right once, it has to be right every two weeks for the lion’s share of an entire year.”
Ahead of the 2017 season, a raft of rule changes were introduced to try and shake up the running order, but Allison was delighted to see Mercedes overcome this and become the first team to remain at the front of the field following an overhaul of regulations.
“This regulation change was designed to make it incredibly difficult to win again,” said Allison. “So to do something that no team in the sport’s history has ever managed – to stay in the mix, and to come out on top, after a major rules change – is just the most enormous credit to everybody involved in the team from top to bottom.
“It is simply not possible to win a championship without their skill, dedication and, in many cases, sacrifice. It is a truly brilliant feeling to be part of a team capable of doing this.”