Ghosts of the Past Comes to Haunt Ferrari Over Infamous Treatment of Engineer Who Played Pivotal Role in Michael Schumacher’s Success

Ferrari is currently going through a restructuring phase under the new team principal Fred Vasseur. While the Italian outfit continues to find ways to get back to the top, it seems that a mistake from their past may come back to haunt them. The mistake was to let James Allison move to rival Mercedes, according to top Italian journalist Leo Turini.

Alongside Red Bull’s chief aerodynamicist Adrian Newey, Allison also is a renowned figure in F1. The 55-year-old not only played a key role in helping Mercedes achieve their recent success of four consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2018 to 2021 but also helped Ferrari achieve success prior.

Allison’s designed cars have won a total of 11 Constructors’ Championships, with five of them coming with Ferrari. The Briton formed an extraordinary partnership with Michael Schumacher as together they won five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004. While Allison did not achieve any success on his return to Ferrari from 2013 to 2016, his stint did end on a disappointing note.

According to a report put out by The Guardian, the 55-year-old left the team in 2016 following the death of his wife, Rebecca. However, as per Turini, Allison’s departure was a “huge mistake” made by Ferrari as the Italian outfit could have avoided this situation.

Ferrari could have prevented James Allison from leaving

According to Leo Turini, many foreigners are reluctant to sign for Ferrari because of the treatment they gave to James Allison when he was on the team. Turini believes the Prancing Horse could have avoided Allison’s departure as they simply did not give him the time he needed following his wife’s death.

“James has three children and asked permission to come home to work from home in England (after Rebecca’s death). He was allowed to do that. However, as the cars of [Sebastian] Vettel and [Kimi] Raikkonen were not competitive at all, Marchionne became nervous and demanded that Allison return to the factory. James asked for more time at home, which was denied. The rest is known. He went to Mercedes. A sad story that was also a mistake. A huge mistake,” explained Turini.

As a result of the treatment that Allison received, Turini believes that there is a stigma when Ferrari offers foreigners a job on their side. The Italian journalist believes that people are afraid of facing the same fate that the 55-year-old faced at the side. However, despite Turini’s claims, it has not stopped current Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur from recruiting the people he needs to get his side back on top.

Fred Vasseur has big plans for recruitment

In a conversation with planetf1.com (as quoted by si.com), Fred Vasseur explained his plans for recruitment. The Frenchman stated that he expects new talent to join Ferrari in the coming months and that his recruitment process will continue until the start of 2025.

After stating the same, the 55-year-old explained how the team has had good recruitment so far. Vasseur expects the same to carry on and has stated that he will provide names once they have finalized deals.