“No, thank you, no” – James Allison has no desire to become Mercedes F1 team boss, says Wolff

James Allison, Technical Director at Mercedes GP and Mercedes GP Managing Director Toto Wolff, look in the garage on the second day of the F1 winter test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 20, 2020 in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says the team’s current technical director, James Allison, would be a good replacement for him, but the Briton doesn’t want the job.

The Austrian Wolff is a principal and a third co-owner of the dominant world champion and agreed in December to stay for another three years while working on a succession plan.

Allison is moving to a new job as technical manager in July, which includes all of Mercedes’ motorsport programs. This position has been viewed by some as a move hiring the British as Wolff’s eventual replacement.

“I would say if you look at things he would be perfectly capable of being the team boss,” Wolff told reporters ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Italian Imola circuit.

“But it’s very simple. He said, ‘Never, never would I do that. The team boss requires different skills.’ And so he said: “No thanks. No.”

Wolff said he and Allison were fully aligned with the strategic direction of the team and had discussed the role of director.

“He made it very clear that it wasn’t for him. And since then I’ve obviously been thinking and watching and watching what’s going on out there and who’s doing a good job, so that I can finally step back from this madness.”

Wolff said the former Ferrari technical director has remained a huge asset to the team as both director and engineer, calling him his “technical twin brother”.

“He’s a sparring partner of mine when it comes to strategic and political discussions, and he’s also more committed to the other departments and racing programs we have,” he said.

Allison said the decision to step down as technical director came in 2019.

“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,” he said.

“Fortunately, Toto saw it a little differently. And between us we worked on how I could contribute to the team.”