Allison says Mercedes' underperformance left colleagues with self-doubt

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Allison says colleagues endured self-doubt during Mercedes' years of underperformance, in extreme cases even self-loathing. He says the shared payoff of the 2026 constructors' title carried extra meaning after those seasons.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 15 Nov 2026, 10:47 · 1 min

For James Allison, Mercedes' 2026 constructors' title is bound up with the colleagues who endured the team's difficult years. Speaking on the NU Silver Arrows Radio Show, the technical director said he found it hard to think about the sport and its fans while focused on friends and teammates who had lived through those seasons. He said those years were accompanied by self-doubt and, in the most extreme cases, self-loathing.

Mercedes had won eight consecutive constructors' championships before four difficult seasons of underperformance. Allison said the team had asked a great deal of one another during 2026 and delivered on what its members had said they would do.

He said the misery of the intervening seasons made the team's shared contentment more meaningful. That shared feeling, Allison said, is how he will remember 2026.

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