James Allison passes the baton to Mercedes

The team Mercedes will change Technical Director from July 1, 2021. Arriving in this position at the start of 2017, the British James Allison will leave his daily occupations to gain height.

In fact, the engineer previously passed through the Team Ferrari or Renault will work more at the Brackley and Brixworth factories (Great Britain), as Technical Manager (“Chief Technical Officer” in English).

We're excited to announce the next step in the evolution of our technical leadership structure for the years ahead!

From 1st July, James Allison will begin a new role as Chief Technical Officer, with Mike Elliott being promoted to Technical Director.

—Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 9, 2021

His task will be, according to a press release released this Friday, April 9, to supervise the evolution of the technical department in the years to come, especially during the regulatory revolution planned for 2022. A role similar to what Adrian Newey occupies at Red Bull Racing.

“Since joining Mercedes in 2017, James has been an exceptional technical leader for our team, and has contributed enormously to our performance: he combines immense passion and determination with deep expertise and exceptional moral character., rent Toto wolff, the boss of the reference team in F1 since 2014.

His tenure as Technical Director was coming to an end this year and I am delighted that we were able to shape this new role to keep him within our family. He will be an important partner for me in the coming years and I know we still have a lot to accomplish together. »

“I chose to leave my role as technical director in order to passing the baton at the right time for the team and myself, says James Allison I spent four and a half wonderful years as technical director. It is a great pleasure to be replaced by Mike Elliott, an exceptional engineer. We will benefit from the freshness he will bring to this position – and I hope to continue to make a useful contribution in a new sphere of activity in my role, with a focus on increasing our capacity at all levels and supporting Toto in the major strategic challenges facing us we face in the near future. »

James Allison, who started in the profession in 1991 as a junior aerodynamic engineer at Benetton, will in fact be replaced by a former colleague from the fashion house.enstone, Namely Mike Elliott.

The new Technical Director has set foot in F1 on the side of McLaren in 2000, as aerodynamicist. A field which then took him to Renault from 2008 to 2012, then to the Etoile brand for nine years.

“We often say that the organization requires constant adaptation if we really want to prosper, continues Toto Wolff to explain the choice of Mike Elliott. Planning for succession has been a strength of our team. I'm delighted to announce Mike in his new role as Technical Director. We first met in early 2013 when I joined the team and have spent many hours talking about the team and how it has evolved since. Mike has gone from being our Head of Aerodynamics to now being ready to take the leap to become Technical Director. With an exceptional group of senior technical leaders, this puts us in the best possible position for the next era of the sport. »

“It was a great pleasure and privilege to work for James earlier in my career at Renault, and for the last four years at Mercedes, continues the promoted. His track record in the sport speaks for itself, and he has been a fantastic colleague and leader to me during this time. I have to thank Toto and Mercedes for trusting me to take on this new role. It is an incredible privilege to be part of this team and I know that strong leadership at all levels across the business will be vital to our future success. »