"Wolff gave me the chance, even though I was driving to and from work crying''

In 2016, James Allison suddenly lost his wife to meningitis. It was a huge blow for the Brit who left Formula 1 at Ferrari immediately. Not much later, however, he was given the chance again at Mercedes.

The loss

''I still mourn the loss of my wife every day, even though it's been four years now. Then, however, I went to and from work crying. I didn't know what to do. Preferably I crawled into a den and never came out of it,'' says Allison in a video interview of Reuters at Mercedes.

However, in March 2017 Allison started in Formula 1 again, where he got a chance with the world champion. ''Toto gave me the opportunity to come and I hoped that with time I would start to love the world again. Every day I walked in the factory I felt stronger too''.

The discovery of Hamilton

''Despite the loss of Becca, I knew there was still something useful in me and for weeks and months I could actually reward Toto's trust," says Allison, who also has a huge admiration for Lewis Hamilton, whom he has come to know during this difficult time.

''He's almost the oldest on the track, but still drives as one of the younger drivers. With so many prizes, however, he has shown few dirty moments on the track and there are a lot of things in return that make you fall off your seat. He has a lot of guts and knows how to do things with the car that nobody else can'', concludes the technical director of Mercedes.