“I didn’t think there would be a place for me” – James Allison thought he would be forced to leave Mercedes

“I didn’t think there would be a place for me” – James Allison thought he would step down from Mercedes after leaving his current role.

Mercedes’ James Allison thought he was leaving Mercedes after stepping down as technical director earlier that year, although he made that final decision in 2019 as there was no such position in the team’s hierarchy.

It turns out, however, that Toto Wolff created a new name for Allison so that he could stay on the team and continue to contribute to Mercedes’ F1 team.

“When I felt like this was the right thing for me and the best for the team to step back, I really thought I was going to step on my sofa to cheer the team off as a punter from the sidelines,” Allison said before the Imola round this weekend.

“I didn’t imagine that there would be room for me on the team after I gave up this brilliant job. Fortunately, Toto saw it a little differently. And between us we worked on how I could contribute to the team. “

No disruption for Mercedes

Taking a newborn position on the team will not affect the way Mercedes works, claims Alisson, and particularly the technical director who will be taken on by Mike Elliot.

“It was just a matter of timing the company so that it could grow in strength by handing it over to a top engineer in Mike Elliot,” said Allison.

“And in a way that enabled the company to attack the championships without missing a step. It’s been a long time since I’ve achieved this in my own head and then it takes a while for the building blocks to be right. “