James Allison and Ferrari have jointly decided to part ways, effective immediately. The British engineer has resigned from his position on the team as Technical Director.
Allison began his F1 career in 1991, when he joined the Benetton Formula One team’s aerodynamics department. Mid-way through his time at Benetton, he took a job at Larrousse as the head of aerodynamics, but he later returned to Benetton after being offered that same position. After moving to Ferrari in 2000, he saw much of the success of Michael Schumacher.
However, he left the team in 2005 to take a position as deputy technical director at Renault F1. He remained with the team during their transition to the Lotus F1 Team and was eventually promoted to technical director. When Ferrari was hiring new staff in an attempt to improve the performance of the team, Allison rejoined the team mid-season in 2013, where he has held the position of technical director for the team.
James Allison has expressed his thanks to Ferrari and reflected on his career with the team:
“During the years I spent at Ferrari, at two different stages and covering different roles, I could get to know and appreciate the value of the team and of the people, women and men, which are part of it. I want to thank them all for the great professional and human experience we shared. I wish everybody a happy future with lots of success.”
Allison has not revealed any future career plans yet, but he is a highly regarded figure in the Formula One paddock and should have no issues finding a position on a high-end team. McLaren, which was one of the teams that attempted to recruit the Brit in 2013, and Renault, for which Allison has worked for at various points in his career and is currently undergoing a rebuilding phase, are two potential candidates.
The news of Allison’s departure comes after recent reports that Sergio Marchionne, the president of Ferrari, has been reviewing the team’s operational practices in order to improve the performance of the team. This includes consulting with the engineers. The high pressure on Ferrari has led to speculation that the Brit’s departure from the team was not as “jointly decided” as the Italian-based team wants fans to believe.
The head of Formula One power-units at Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, has been promoted to take over Allison’s position.
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