Mercedes technical director James Allison has signed a new “long-term” contract to commit his future to the team into Formula One’s next set of technical regulations in 2026.
The deal follows news earlier this week that team principal Toto Wolff has signed a deal to remain in his role until the end of the 2026 season at the very least, strengthening the leadership position of the former champions.
“Put simply, he is the most impressive technical leader in our sport,” Wolff said of Allison. “His gladiator spirit, along with his knowledge, experience, and determination, make him second-to-none.
“Since joining in 2017, he has been a key ally and sparring partner for me personally. We can challenge each other openly and honestly; an embodiment of the ‘tough love’ culture of the team that is vital in helping us all perform at our very best. Most importantly though, James is a true friend you can rely on, not only in times of success but in difficult moments too.”
Allison’s news comes on the dawn of a new Formula One season, with Mercedes looking to return to winning ways after scoring just one race victory in the last two seasons.
Prior to the introduction of the current set of regulations in 2022, the team won eight constructors’ championships in a row in an unprecedented run of dominance.
In 2021, as the team’s winning period was drawing to a close, Allison took a less hands-on role when he was appointed chief technical officer while Mike Elliott took on the position of technical director.
Following the team’s struggles in 2022 and early 2023, Elliott and Allison swapped positions to increase Allison’s involvement in frontline technical decisions before Elliott left the company at the end of the season.
Allison said the challenge his team now faces in catching up with a Red Bull team that won 21 of 22 races last year is one of the key reasons he wants to remain in his role.
“It actually is lots of fun!” he told journalists via a video call. “It isn’t as much fun as winning, that’s definitely true. But you have to sort of love the whole of the sport and the whole of the sport involves taking your licks when you haven’t done a good enough job.
“I think one of the things to admire about Red Bull’s current performance is that they stuck gamely to their task in quite a long period in the wilderness and are now enjoying the fruits of that…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – RPM…