James Allison

There are two James’ at the top of Mercedes, both holding extremely important roles. However, it is James Allison who is most often handed a microphone, as his work is the most visible in terms of success or lack thereof. He is the Chief Technical Officer of the Mercedes AMG F1 Team.

How does a car behave when it drives at high speed, and the air pushes the car down onto the ground? With that question and the FIA regulations in hand, the brilliant minds in Formula 1 gather around the drawing board every year to design the best possible car for the grid. For James Allison, this career starts in 1991 with the Benetton team, where he worked alongside Michael Schumacher.

An opportunity arises at the Larrouse team, which is looking for someone to lead its aerodynamics department. Allison makes the move but quickly returns to Benetton after the prospects at Larrouse fail to meet expectations. He still secures the promotion and works as an aerodynamic designer at his first employer.

In this role, he witnesses Schumacher’s wins in 1994 and 1995, before being promoted to Head of Aerodynamics. In 2000, the Brit departs for Ferrari, continuing to work with Schumacher as a trackside aerodynamicist. Ferrari’s successful years show that Allison certainly knows what he’s doing.

While Ferrari’s success begins to fade, Renault’s success picks up, and in 2005, James Allison is appointed deputy technical director at the French team. A few years later, Allison is promoted to technical director. Even when Renault withdraws, and Lotus takes over, Allison is the person overseeing all technical matters within the team.

Nick Chester takes over in 2013 as Allison moves back to Ferrari, not as an aerodynamics specialist, but as chassis technical director and later, simply technical director. Under his leadership, Ferrari claws its way back to the top of the field, after struggling in the years prior.

Allison holds this position until 2016, before stepping away from the Formula 1 scene for a few months due to personal reasons. He returns in 2017, when Mercedes announces that Allison will take over as technical director from that season.

Before this, Paddy Lowe held the title of executive director at Mercedes, but after a break, the Brit leaves for Williams. A few years later, that adventure also ends, but Allison remains at Mercedes.

At the Silver Arrows, Allison performs his duties excellently, and Mercedes continues to secure the title year after year. Ferrari came close in 2019, but the German factory team fends off the challenge. This success followed a crucial shift in focus the previous season. The engine was no longer the focal point; instead, the team prioritized finding aerodynamic downforce—something that has consistently been Allison’s strong suit.

2021 was the year that everything changed for Mercedes. The team secured the constructors' title but lost the drivers' title after a thrilling battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. New season, new chances in 2022, but it didn't work in the German team’s favor.

Hamilton and George Russell struggled with the problematic W13 all year, and the first win of the season came only at the Brazilian Grand Prix. For the technical team under Allison’s leadership, it was a critical learning year. In 2023, Mercedes hopes to once again challenge Red Bull Racing and Ferrari for both world titles.