---
title: "Allison already ‘up to my neck in it’ as Mercedes F1 technical director"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2023/04/25/allison-already-up-to-my-neck-in-it-as-mercedes-f1-technical-director/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Hamilton Lyndon-Griffiths"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2023-04-25T09:52:03Z"
modified: "2023-04-25T09:52:04Z"
---

# Allison already ‘up to my neck in it’ as Mercedes F1 technical director

James Allison says he is already “up to my neck in it” after returning as Mercedes’ Formula 1 technical director less than two years after he stepped back from the role.

Mercedes has taken action following its difficult start to the 2023 season by reshuffling its technical team, in a move that sees Allison swap positions with former technical director Mike Elliott.

Elliott was drafted in as Allison’s successor when he decided to step back in 2021, but Mercedes’ two most recent designs under Elliot’s leadership the W13 and W14 have failed to match expectations.

As a result, the German manufacturer has taken the decision to bring Allison back into a more hands-on role, with Elliott moving into the role as chief technical officer that Allison vacated.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Allison explained the thinking behind the changes that he believes will make Mercedes a “better fighting machine”.

“We just had a bit of an examining of our own navels here in Brackley, and between Mike and I concluded that the pair of us can cover the ground reasonably well,” Allison said.

“But perhaps I was better suited to the short-term fighting of a championship with a car, and he was the much better chess player of the pair of us, and that he would be better suited to doing the job I was doing as a CTO previously.

“So we jiggled it about and came up with something that we think is a better fighting machine overall.”

Asked why the switch had come after the team’s strong weekend in Australia, Allison said Mercedes was looking more towards progress in the long term.

“I don’t think that this decision is particularly dependent on the fortune of the car at a given race weekend,” he said.

“It was based on a sober assessment of what the pair of us are best suited to. And we think that the overall fighting strength of this team is maximised by this role swap.

“Let’s hope that Melbourne is just the first step in a general pick-up and recovery that allows us to get more competitive by the weekend.

“But Mike and I are convinced that with the jobs that we’re setting out to do, that we’ll be playing our best part in that recovery in the time ahead of us.”

Looking ahead to the challenges that lay ahead, Allison expects it will take him some time to fully adjust to the day-to-day operations.

“I was much less involved than I had been as a technical director,” Allison said. “I was more manoeuvring around in the sort of 2026 space than in the here and now of the current car.

“It certainly is a fair chunk of effort to get up to speed with everything. Not merely the regulations, but the full engine of the factory and the race team and all the things that are currently in play in the championship fight.

“But it’s exciting and fun and interesting, and a pleasure to be back up to my neck in it.”