James Allison (motorsport)
Introduction
James Allison (born in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, on 22 February 1968) is a motor sport designer and engineer, best known for his accomplishments in Formula 1, where he is the current Technical Director of Mercedes-AMG.
Early life
The son of former Royal Air Force officer, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison, James was educated at Abingdon School and Cambridge.
Career
Aerodynamics
After graduating from Cambridge in 1991, Allison joined the aerodynamics department of the Benetton Formula One team. After a couple of years at Benetton he moved to Larrousse as Head of Aerodynamics before returning to Benetton as Head of Aerodynamics in the mid-1990s. In 2000, he moved to Ferrari for five years.
Renault F1: 2005-2009
Allison returned to Benetton (by then known as Renault F1) in the role of Deputy Technical Director in 2005. In 2009 Allison moved to the role of Technical Director. In 2011, Renault F1 became Lotus Renault GP before becoming Lotus F1 in 2012.
Ferrari: 2013-2016
On 8 May 2013, Allison quit as Lotus F1 Team Technical Director to be replaced by Nick Chester. On 29 July 2013 Allison officially re-joined Ferrari as Chassis Technical Director and then Technical Director until July 2016.On 27 July 2016 Allison quit as Scuderia Ferrari Technical Director following a personal tragedy.
Mercedes AMG: 2017-present
On 16 February 2017 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport announced that Allison is to join the squad in the newly-created role of Technical Director, following the recent departure of Paddy Lowe to Williams Grand Prix Engineering.