Mercedes eyes "future success" with technical leadership "evolution"

Mercedes

Mercedes eyes "future success" with technical leadership "evolution"

James Allison will become Mercedes' chief technical officer

Sam Hall

Friday 9 April 2021 12:32 Updated: 12:38

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Mercedes has announced an "evolution" of its technical leadership structure with James Allison stepping into a newly created role as chief technical officer.

Allison joined Mercedes as technical director in 2017 after spending three years at Ferrari and has been a key figure on the Silver Arrows' pit wall in the years since.

In his new role, Allison will work closely with the technical leadership teams at both Brackley and Brixworth to ensure the team meets "the strategic challenges of the sport's next era".

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The change, which will become effective as of July 1, will result in Allison stepping back from the day to day management of the F1 technical operations.

"I firmly believe that people have a shelf life in senior roles in this sport, and I have chosen to step away from my role as technical director in order to pass on the baton at the right time for the organisation and myself," said Allison.

"I have enjoyed four and a half wonderful years as technical director, and it has been a special privilege to lead the technical effort of the team in that time."

Allison then turned his attention to his replacement, Mike Elliot, who has been with Mercedes since 2012 and in position as technology director since 2017.

He added: "It is a great pleasure to be succeeded by Mike, an exceptional engineer in a tremendously strong group of senior leaders in the team.

"We will benefit from the freshness that he will bring to the role - and I hope I can continue to make a useful contribution across a new sphere of activity in my role as CTO, with a focus on increasing our capability across the board and supporting Toto with the major strategic challenges we face in the near future." Elliot joined the Formula 1 paddock in 2000 with McLaren and subsequently spent time with Renault before joining Mercedes.

Reflecting on his new opportunity, Elliot said: "On a personal level, it is an amazing opportunity to become technical director of a team like Mercedes, and I must thank Toto [Wolff] and our company for trusting me to make the step up to this new role.

"It is an incredible privilege to be part of this team and I know that the leadership strength at every level through the company will be vital to our future success.

"I can't wait to get started and to tackle the many exciting technical challenges ahead of us in the next months and years."