James Allison (motorsport)

For other people named James Allison, see James Allison (disambiguation).

James Allison
Allison in 2014
Born	(1968-02-21) 21 February 1968 (age 56) Louth, Lincolnshire, England[1]
Nationality	British
Education	Aerospace engineer
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Formula One chief technical officer, engineer, aerodynamicist
Years active	1991–present
Employer	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Known for	Formula One aerodynamicist
Predecessor	Paddy Lowe
Spouse	Rebecca ​ ​ (m. 1992; died 2016)​
Children	3

James Allison (born 21 February 1968)^[2] is a British motorsport designer and engineer, best known for his accomplishments in Formula One, where he is the technical director of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Early life

Born in Louth, Lincolnshire,^[2] the son of former Royal Air Force officer, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison, and Jill Allison, James was educated at Abingdon School and Cambridge.^[3]

Career

Benetton, Larrousse, and Ferrari (1991–2005)

After graduating from Cambridge in 1991, Allison joined the aerodynamics department of Benetton Formula.^[4] After a couple of years at Benetton, he moved to Larrousse as head of aerodynamics,^[4] before returning to Benetton as head of aerodynamics in the mid-1990s.^[4] In 2000, he moved to Ferrari for five years.

Renault/Lotus (2005–2013)

Allison returned to Benetton (by then known as Renault F1) in the role of deputy technical director in 2005.^[3] In 2009 Allison became technical director.^[4] In 2011, Renault F1 became Lotus Renault GP, before becoming Lotus F1 in 2012.

Return to Ferrari (2013–2016)

On 8 May 2013, Allison quit as Lotus F1 Team technical director to be replaced by Nick Chester.^[5] On 29 July 2013, Allison rejoined Ferrari as chassis technical director and then technical director until July 2016.^[1][6] On 27 July 2016, Allison quit as Scuderia Ferrari technical director following the death of his wife.^[7]

Mercedes-AMG (2017–present)

On 16 February 2017, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport announced that Allison was to join the team in the newly created role of technical director, following the departure of Paddy Lowe to Williams Grand Prix Engineering.^[8]

In April 2021, Allison became Chief Technical Officer at Mercedes-AMG.^[9] He also became the Chief Technical Officer at Ineos Team UK Britannia's America's Cup team. This role positioned Allison as technical lead of Ben Ainslie's campaign for the 37th America's Cup, with Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science partnering with their existing sailing and design teams, which include Ainslie, Giles Scott, and prominent naval architect and yacht designer Martin Fischer.^[10] On 21 April 2023, Allison returned to his previous position as Technical Director of Mercedes-AMG F1, swapping jobs with Mike Elliott, who had taken his place earlier.^[11]

Formula One Championships

Allison was part of the design team for the cars that won the following Formula One World Constructors' Championships and World Drivers' Championships:

No.	Season	Constructors' Champion	Drivers' Champion	Car	Engine
1	2000	Ferrari	Michael Schumacher	F1-2000	Ferrari
2	2001	Ferrari	Michael Schumacher	F2001
3	2002	Ferrari	Michael Schumacher	F2002
4	2003	Ferrari	Michael Schumacher	F2003-GA
5	2004	Ferrari	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari F2004
6	2005	Renault	Fernando Alonso	R25	Renault
7	2006	Renault	Fernando Alonso	R26
8	2018	Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	W09	Mercedes
9	2019	Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	W10
10	2020	Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	W11
11	2021	Mercedes	—	W12

See also

• List of Old Abingdonians

References

1. "James Allison". Mercedes AMG. Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
2. Hughes, Mark (16 February 2017). "How Allison differs from Lowe". Motor Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
3. "People: James Allison". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
4. "Lotus F1 Team::James Allison". Lotus F1 Team. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
5. "Allison quits Lotus". EatSleepSport. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
6. "Ferrari: James Allison leaves role as technical director". BBC Sport.
7. "James Allison leaves Ferrari". Sky Sports.
8. "Allison to join Mercedes as technical chief".
9. "Mercedes announce new Technical Director as James Allison steps back from day-to-day role". www.formula1.com. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
10. "INEOS Britannia launch world-class team to challenge for 37th America's Cup". www.ineosbritannia.com. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
11. "Mercedes confirm leadership reshuffle as James Allison returns to Technical Director role". Formula 1. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.