F1: Elliott and Allison swap roles at Mercedes (Update)

(GMM) Just two weeks after denying the rumors, James Allison is indeed returning to a highly-prominent role at Mercedes.

Earlier in April, team boss Toto Wolff denied speculation the team was losing faith in Mike Elliot and may reinstate Allison as the full-time technical director.

Late in 2021, Allison took on a new role in America’s Cup yacht racing, even though until just weeks ago he was still involved in “discussing the team’s long-term strategy”.

But now, Auto Motor und Sport confirmed new reports that Briton Allison, 55, actually did return to the prominent role of technical director three weeks ago.

“Mike Elliot will take over from Allison as chief technical officer,” correspondent Tobias Gruner said.

The move follows Wolff’s frank admission that the ‘no sidepods’ concept of 2022 and 2023 had proved a failure.

“Under Mike’s leadership,” Wolff is now quoted as saying, “we undertook a review of our development department.

“Our focus is on building the best car and putting together the best team to develop that car,” the Austrian explained. “It’s all about figuring out how everyone in the organization can best leverage their strengths.”

Mercedes confirmed to Auto Motor und Sport that the Allison-Elliot role swap “came into effect a few weeks ago”.

“We have reversed the roles,” Speed Week quotes Wolff as saying.

“Mike thought James was more of the gladiator type on the field, while he (Elliot) is more suitable for improving the technical structure.

“I give Mike credit for suggesting this move himself,” Wolff added.

However, Allison will maintain his involvement in Mercedes team shareholder and sponsor Ineos’ Team UK Britannia America’s Cup project.

But now as Allison’s replacement as chief technical officer, 48-year-old Elliot will be tasked with “bringing the factory up to the best possible standard, both technically and in terms of personnel”.

Additionally, chief designer John Owen will hand over certain administrative tasks to his deputy Giacomo Tortora, including bookkeeping for the budget cap.

“In the future, he will be able to devote more time to his main task, which is to design the car,” Gruner said.

Meanwhile, Corriere dello Sport claims that after a similar struggle to perform so far in 2023, Ferrari has poached two more unnamed Red Bull engineers.

Embarrassed that the mighty ‘Mercedes brand’ is getting tarnished for the second year in a row by a caffeine drink company, and scrambling to save face, the Mercedes Formula 1 team has shuffled its senior technical personnel with key figures James Allison and Mike Elliott swapping jobs, Autosport reports.

Speaking about the move, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Autosport: “This was very much driven by Mike Elliott owning the process.

“So, we have reversed the roles. Mike has moved up to CTO, as he has a brilliant, switched-on scientific mind. And James Allison has returned to his technical director position, reporting in to Mike.”

“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,” added Wolff.

“Mike came to the conclusion that the way he approaches things, his skill set, is best utilized in developing the organization going forward: from technical capabilities to human capabilities and putting together the structure that can be successful for many years to come.

“It’s about creating a structure that can be sustainably successful going into the next generation. We’re seeing huge changes in the technical developments, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“And at the same time, looking at how is a modern Formula One team going to be organized and structured: what kind of innovation can be brought in.

“Mike sees himself very much in his sweet spot there and obviously, he’s a super capable engineer, very credible and respected in the organization. He is going to be a coach and sparring partner for the most senior people.

“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.”