Allison’s Leadership Fuels Mercedes F1 Resurgence, Says Russell

George Russell credits James Allison’s return as technical director for Mercedes F1’s resurgence and the team’s renewed competitive edge.

George Russell highlighted James Allison’s return as technical director as a pivotal moment contributing to Mercedes’ recovery this Formula 1 season.

Allison had been credited with playing a key role in several F1 cars during Mercedes’ previous dominance following his arrival in 2017. However, he chose to reduce his involvement in 2021, becoming executive technical director and stepping back from design and operations, while Mike Elliott was promoted to take over the direct management of projects and the engineering team at Brackley.

Mercedes experienced a sharp decline with the transition to ground-effect F1 cars in 2022. Allison was reinstated to his previous role last season, leading a technical group that produced a W15 capable of returning to the front of the pack and securing multiple victories.

“I think James Allison’s renewed involvement in the F1 project has been a huge advantage for us.”

“We’ve always had this talent within the team, but simply having that clear leadership and direction to maximize the talent of the designers and aerodynamicists has been vital.”

“His experience is also immense, so that’s been an important factor.”

However, Russell puts the achievement in perspective.

“Our performance improvement and McLaren’s have certainly been a pleasant surprise, but it may have been slightly overstated due to Red Bull’s dip.”

“We’ve made progress, but in a normal season, a driver and a team shouldn’t win all the races—that’s not the standard. We’re talking about disaster today for Red Bull, but in reality, this is what should happen in a normal season, with victories shared between multiple teams.”