Just weeks before the 2024 Formula 1 season is set to begin, Mercedes has made a major move. The team announced on Thursday that they have agreed to a “long-term” contract extension with Technical Director James Allison.
Allison has been in F1 since 1991, when he began his career with Benetton F1 Team as a Junior Aerodynamic Designer upon graduating from the University of Cambridge. His F1 journey saw him enjoy multiple stops at Ferrari as well as Renault, where he was Deputy Technical Director during Fernando Alonso’s back-to-back Drivers’ Championships in 2005 and 2006. The team took home the Constructors’ titles in those seasons as well.
He eventually joined Mercedes in 2017 as their Technical Director, helping guide the team to five-straight Constructors’ Championships. During 2021 he moved into the role of Chief Technical Officer, overseeing the vast array of projects under the Mercedes banner as well as the team’s long-term strategy. However, he moved back into the Technical Director role in April of 2023.
A role he will now hold for the long term.
“F1 has brought me a lot of good fortune, but none greater than answering Toto’s call to join Mercedes in 2017,” said Allison in a statement released to the media, including SB Nation. “It is a great privilege to continue this adventure, working alongside brilliant colleagues and fighting together for championship success.”
”I am thrilled that James has committed his long-term future to the team. Put simply, he is the most impressive technical leader in our sport,” said Team Principal Toto Wolff. “His gladiator spirit, along with his knowledge, experience, and determination, make him second-to-none. His influence and impact, however, goes so much further than that.
“Since joining in 2017, he has been a key ally and sparring partner for me personally. We can challenge each other openly and honestly; an embodiment of the ‘tough love’ culture of the team that is vital in helping us all perform at our very best,” added Wolff. “Most importantly though, James is a true friend you can rely on, not only in times of success but in difficult moments too. It has been a pleasure to work with him over the past seven years and I look forward to doing so for many more to come.”
The move comes weeks before the team is set to break cover on the W15, their challenger for the 2023 season. It is also comes at a critical time for both the team’s present, and its future. Not only does Mercedes need to get the design right for their 2024 challenger — something they have struggled with in recent years, including the much maligned “zeropod” concept for the 2022 season — but they have to be prepared for the new regulations that go into effect for the 2026 season.
Under Allison’s technical leadership, the team won Constructors’ titles in 2017 through 2021, and while the 2017 title cannot be completely linked with him as he joined the team when the design for that season was already in progress, he was at the helm for the titles from 2018 through 2021.
And during that stretch, Lewis Hamilton won the Drivers’ Championship in 2017 through 2020.
The move also comes days after the team announced a long-term extension for Wolf himself. And while Mercedes is under immense pressure to perform next season, and push Red Bull at the top of the table, the move also signals that the team is confident in their vision not just for 2024, but beyond. With Wolff at the helm they have a Team Principal who has guided the team to eight Constructors’ Championships, and seven Drivers’ titles. Now in Allison they have the Technical Director who was in place for at least some of those, and who was at the helm during Hamilton’s last three titles.
That experience paid off in a huge way in the past, and now the team is betting on it paying off in the present, and the future.
