Allison calls favoritism allegations ‘unfair’ amid Hamilton struggles

Mercedes technical boss James Allison has dismissed as “unfair” claims that Mercedes are favoring George Russell over Lewis Hamilton amid the latter’s poor qualifying performance.

Hamilton has had a difficult season so far, with the Briton achieving his best result in Montreal last time out, where he finished fourth.

But it’s the seven-time world champion’s qualifying record that has captured the attention of pundits and fans alike, as Hamilton – the greatest qualifier in F1 history with 104 pole positions – now trails Russell by a margin significant (8-1) in the face-to-face on Saturday.

This unexpected disparity has fueled speculation that Mercedes may subtly favor Russell, particularly in light of Hamilton’s upcoming move to Ferrari in 2025.

After a particularly difficult qualifying session in Monaco, Hamilton made some intriguing claims, suggesting he “wouldn’t be able” to beat Russell on a single lap. However, he appears to be taking more responsibility for his qualifying difficulties in Canada.

Addressing the contrast in qualifying performances, Allison dismissed the far-fetched notion that one driver would be favored by Brackley’s team.

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“I think if you try to understand what’s not there, like somehow he has a systematic disadvantage on qualifying day, that’s not true and that’s not not fair,” explained Allison, speaking in the latest F1 newsletter. Beyond the grid podcast.

“As far as we can tell, the cars are identical. The use of the engine is identical. If the cars are different in configuration, it’s because that’s what the driving engineering team on each side of the garage followed.

“But they have the chance to have identical things if they want them. On one occasion this year and at Monaco, they had a different front wing on the car because we only had one available and we made the decision to put that wing on the car as soon as possible, and it worked. had to be deleted. to one or the other.

“We had the conversation and Lewis said ‘no, I’ll let George handle it’.”

Allison’s comments underline Mercedes’ commitment to treating both drivers equally, in a bid to dispel any notions of favoritism within the team.

Furthermore, the Briton believes that the “thin margins” are partly responsible for the current disparity that exists between Russell and Hamilton on Saturday, as well as a technical consideration linked to this year’s tires.

“I wouldn’t have predicted 8-1,” Allison added. “And I think for a good part of the year the car was a pretty troubled beast.

It’s become a much better car over the last two or three races and, with that, I think the judgments on who can or can’t put it in front of the other car become more meaningful, because the car is less random. number generator.

“Lewis wasn’t by any chance the best qualifier in the history of the sport, because I think he’s been the best driver in the sport, but he’s struggling to hold on this year by good margins, as you say.

“I think to some extent I was speculating on this in an email I sent to the factory yesterday that the current car-tire combo, not just us, on the other side of pit lane, doesn’t like to be rushed, you almost get the best lap times when you don’t try.

“And you see, every weekend you’ll see someone set a lap time in free practice or qualifying, in one session or another, you’ll see a car and you’ll wonder, ‘How did that happen? there ?’

“And then they don’t do it again, it kind of disappears into the fog right after.” I think in qualifying it’s quite difficult, when you’re all motivated and you want to get the most out of it, to have a relaxed enough lap to get the most out of the car.

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