SUMMARY
- James Allison is the best F1 car designer after Adrian Newey
- Allison signs a long-term contract extension with Mercedes
James Allison has become quite popular in the last few years. He is the technical director for the Mercedes F1 team. He is probably the only person who can compare to the ability of Adrian Newey in Formula 1. There is definitely no other technical director who can be compared with Newey.
James Allison was responsible for designing a few dominant F1 cars for Mercedes. He was the key member for designing the W11 which hit the tracks in 2020. The W11 had so many innovative designs that made it the fastest car on the grid. There is no doubt that they would have faced a bigger threat from Red Bull and the other teams if not for James Allison and his capabilities.
How long is James Allison’s contract with Mercedes?
Back in 2021, James decided to take a smaller role with the team to spend more time with his family. The team then decided to make Mike Elliot the technical director. However, since then, Mercedes have not been able to win many races. Since the 2021 season, the team has taken only 1 victory which came at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was won by George Russell. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand has not won a race since the 2021 season.
Halfway through the 2023 season, Mike realized that he was not able to help the team as their technical director, so he spoke to Allison and they decided to swap roles making James the technical director once again. After the 2023 season ended, the team announced a contract extension for James Allison. Although the length of his new contract is not mentioned, it has been stated that it is a long-term contract. So we can expect him to remain with the team until the 2026 season at least.
🚨 BREAKING: James Allison has signed a long-term contract extension with Mercedes#F1 pic.twitter.com/y94ercp1j5
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) January 18, 2024
Allison’s involvement in the 2026 season will be vital for the team. There are some major regulation changes coming up after the 2025 changes. This includes changes in aerodynamics, power unit, and chassis. They will need all hands on deck if they wish to get the most out of their car from the 2026 season.
Recently, we also saw Toto Wolff sign a 3-year contract extension which will keep him with the team until the 2026 season. He has made it clear that he wishes to help Lewis Hamilton win a Championship with this extension. There is no doubt that James has the same agenda with his contract extension.
When did James Allison join Mercedes?
While James Allison is known for his work with Mercedes, he actually joined the team only in 2017. Before that, he worked for Ferrari as their technical director. He served for the team from 2013 to 2016. Allison also worked with a number of other teams such as Benetton, Lotus, and Renault.
🗣 𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗳: “Teknik olarak Mercedes’e liderlik edecek James Allison’dan daha iyi kimse yok.”
“Bu yıl Everest Dağı’na tırmanmamız gerekiyor. Red Bull, Ferrari ve McLaren çok güçlüler ve 2026 çok yakında.”#F1 | #Mercedes pic.twitter.com/XruIlepIaw
— MERCEDES-AMG F1 NEWS TR 🇹🇷 (@f1mercedestr) January 19, 2024
He was one of the key members who took part in designing Fernando Alonso’s Championship-winning Renault cars. James was also responsible for providing a strong car for Kimi Raikkonen with the Lotus F1 team on a limited budget.
Given his accomplishments with the team, there is no doubt that Allison is one of the best and most experienced car designers next to Adrian Newey. Mercedes will be hoping that he is able to use his experience and talent to provide the team with one of the strongest cars to challenge Red Bull in the coming season.