In order to revive its fortunes on the F1 track, Mercedes has a reshuffle of its top technical personnel. As Lewis Hamilton & Co. tread unchartered territory in the middle of the grid, the team has swapped key figures James Allison and Mike Elliott in a bid to return to the front of the grid.
As part of this strategy, Allison will return to his former role as technical director while Elliot sits in the chair of the Chief Technical Officer. This bold move comes a long 20 months after Allison got comfortable in the CTO role; a shift now key for the team’s plans to regain their oomph factor.
Elliot confessed to not being best suited for the role, which prompted the switch to Allison. Mercedes’ tough start to 2023, after a deplorable 2022 lead to a lot of introspection. The conclusion? A shake-up in the technical department.
Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff explains his decision
Wolff acknowledged that the decision was made by Elliot’s admission and owning it. According to Wolff, Elliott believed that Allison’s strengths were better suited to the hands-on responsibility of the technical director role, which involves overseeing the development of the car itself.
“What Mike’s assessment was, and the introspection is really admirable, is that with James we have a gladiator on the field and the troops are going to go through the fire for him and with him.”
In contrast, Elliott himself would be better placed to focus on wider organizational technical developments that play to his own strengths. Both Allison and Elliott had come to the conclusion that this would be the best way to move the team forward and ensure they are performing at their best on all fronts. By playing to each other’s strengths, they believe they can achieve greater success both in the short and long term.
2019 United States GP
AUSTIN, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 03: World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1, race winner Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1 and James Allison, Technical Director, Mercedes AMG celebrate on the podium during the 2019 Formula One Unite… https://t.co/OeDCTu9xWI pic.twitter.com/vimTtP1doB
— Formula1.it WM (@Formula1WM) November 7, 2019
Thus, Toto Wolff is pleased with the way things have played out for his team. “And I’m actually very happy that Mike took this decision by himself to put himself in this role, with both him and James coming to this conclusion, as we are having both of them in their genius.”
Now, the hope is that the gamble pays off. With two of the team’s heavyweights playing to their strengths, maybe Mercedes can pick up where they left off. With things finally turning up for the team, there could only be more victories for the hungry Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
