After a difficult start to the season, the car showed signs of improvement in Australia, helped by issues with Sergio Perez in qualifying, in which George Russell finished second , Lewis Hamilton was runner-up in the race.

but when it comes to F1 country Podcaster Allison, who returned to his role as technical director after switching jobs with Mike Elliott, said the car’s performance was still well below the team’s expectations.

Asked about the W14’s features, he said: “It’s reliable, that’s a definite plus.”

“It had a really good pair of punters touting it. It was better than most grids out there. But until it was the fastest it always felt like a weak car to all of us.

“Its tires are good enough, but not as good as some of the cars we’ve built in the past. It has more downforce than most cars on the track, but not enough. Its handling characteristics kind of need it, and it needs to be done for sure.

“But none of that stuff is revelatory. We talk about it most weekends. It’s something this team needs to fix in order to get the winning material back in our hands.”

Allison didn’t want to get drawn into which circuits might benefit W14, instead suggesting that the parameters will change over time and as updates are introduced.

“It’s too early to diagnose what your car is good at or what it’s not good at because cars are not fixed things,” he said. “It’s a platform that develops throughout the year.

James Allison, Mercedes

Photo: Mercedes-AMG

“If I had to take something out of the air right now, I’d say we tend to be stronger on the front-end limiting circuits, not the circuits that are really limiting hard.

“So the key to the Bahrain-style track is how well the car takes care of the rear tyres. Melbourne is limited at the front end of the spectrum. Other circuits with a limited front end, Barcelona’s, Silverstone’s another.

“But honestly it’s too early to predict because these are young rules, it’s a young car and there’s a lot to give it.”

Allison confirmed the team will have new kit in Azerbaijan and will continue to bring updates as the season progresses.

“The flow of new parts is already happening,” he said. “Every weekend you almost have a different car to race. Sometimes it adds some parts, sometimes it takes some less. But we have something new for every race.

“Baku is no exception and I hope we can keep it going. You end up with cost caps and other factors.

“But we’re at a stage in the season where there’s still enough firepower to continue adding lap times in the cars over the weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photography: Steve Etherington/ motorsport pictures

Asked which teams Mercedes sees as its current rivals, Allison stressed the focus was on pursuing the bigger picture of overall performance improvement.

“We try not to think in those terms,” ​​he said. “Just focus on what are the areas of opportunity on automotive?

“How quickly can we fill those opportunities with hardware or a different approach and expect that to increase our chances on any given weekend?

“The sooner we can do that, and on the steepest slope possible, the better our chances in any given weekend and with any given team and championship.

“But it’s entirely realistic that we’ve had a remarkable performance against Red Bull, especially Max (Verstappen). They’re going to be very interesting opponents to hunt down and then overtake in due course.”