James Allison question raised after Mercedes struggles: ‘I’d be dumbstruck if they did’
Mercedes replacing James Allison as technical director following their tough start has been downplayed.
Mercedes technical director James Allison is under no threat of losing his job despite the team’s abysmal start to the 2024 F1 season.
He team sit fourth in the F1 constructors’ championship after five rounds, 44 points behind customer team McLaren.
In a bid to turn their fortunes around, Allison was drafted back in as technical director in the middle of last year, replacing Mike Elliott.
Allison has been a big part of Mercedes’ success in the hybrid era, joining the team in 2017.
Even though Mercedes were winning prior to Allison’s arrival, from 2018 onwards, Mercedes stole a march on their rivals on the chassis side - not just relying on their incredible power unit.
In 2021, he became chief technical officer of Mercedes-AMG, also becoming the CTO at Ineos Team UK Britannia's America's Cup team, thus reducing his role within the F1 team.
Allison’s return as technical director was expected to result in a Mercedes resurgence which hasn’t quite materialised.
Despite their poor start, Allison’s position in the team is under no threat, according to veteran F1 journalist Andrew Benson.
“The issue isn’t a management issue, it’s a technical understanding issue, Benson said on The Chequered Flag Podcast.
“He’s [Wolff] not designing the car, the issue is the car design.
“Now, so that then passes the question onto the technical department, are they going to make changes there?
“Maybe, but are they likely to replace James Allison as technical director? I’d be absolutely dumbstruck if they did.
“James Allison is incredibly highly regarded; most people would regard him as the second-best technical leader in Formula 1 behind Adrian Newey.
“I think most people would think they’d lost their marbles if they got rid of Allison.”
