Ferrari confirm Allison will join them in September

2013 F1 season

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Ferrari have confirmed former Lotus technical director James Allison will join the team as of September.

Allison will take on the role of chassis technical director.

The team also announced current technical director Pat Fry will take on the new position of director of engineering. Allison and Fry will both report to team principal Stefano Domenicali.

Allison left Lotus in May. He previously worked for Ferrari in the early 2000s and left the team at the end of 2004. Allison began his F1 career with Benetton (now Lotus) in 1991 and later in the 1990s. He had been with Lotus since 2005, when the team was called Renault.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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20 comments on “Ferrari confirm Allison will join them in September”

  1. RBR, Merc and Ferrari seem to be hiring like crazy for 2014.

    1. Who did Red Bull hire?

      1. Who did red bull hire , nobody they lost a couple people.

  2. Here’s hoping a return to the form during the Brawn/Schumacher period (though a little less dominant to keep things interesting).

    1. I agree there 100%

  3. Shame. I was hoping that he was going to Honda to build a test car…

  4. Rory Byrne and James Allison at Ferrari in 2014…let’s hope their positive influence can counter the negative influence of Stefano Domenicali.

    1. What, exactly, is Domenicali’s negative influence? He’s more open and honest than Ross Brawn ever was.

    2. Well, Domenicali might not be a genius but he played his role in Schumacher era.

    3. Domenicali has nothing to do with car design,engineering,track operations , his role in Ferrari is all about management he has to ensure that every single euro will be spend correctly apart from his main role which is to rebuild the team in the post Todt era , if the likes of Allison, Byrne , Hirohide Hamashima, Steve Clark , Loic Bigois,Martin Bester,Ioannis Veloudis,….. are working now with Ferrari then probably it is thanks to Domenicali

    4. More like LDM. Until he quits Ferrari entirely (as he was planning many years ago), I don’t see Ferrari winning any Championships. His soul is just too roten.

  5. Recruiting Allison as a ‘chassis technical director’ I guess hinges on the new engine formula for next season, the chassis-engine combination is going to be imperative and putting someone of a great intellect like Allison may prove to be an intelligent move by Ferrari. Coupled with Rory Byrne also rejoining the team next year, that’s two experienced heads that played a role in the Ferrari-Schumacher era. Maybe Ferrari are rekindling some of that old magic? As for now, this certainly goes a long way in reducing whatever frustration Alonso may be enduring with the team.

    1. True, it also will probably be part of the reason Kimi is considering a move from Enstone.

    2. If the car Is the way It should be , that will go away the first time he wins.

  6. Something like this may convince Alonso to stay patient with Ferrari, at least for another year. After all, he won both of his Championships when Allison came to Renault, so there should be a good working relationship between them.

  7. Chassis technical director…but he’s joining in September? The job title implies that his influence wouldn’t truly take effect until 2015.

    Still, I’m a big fan of Allison, one of the few truly innovative guys we have, and I look forward to seeing what he can do with a budget like Ferrari’s.

  8. Good to see Ferrari finally adding some firepower to their car design team. As @jamiefranklinf1 mentioned… its definitely a move that helps keep Fernando at Ferrari.

  9. This is one big move from Ferrari, Allison is the upcoming Newry IMO.

  10. Traitor who changes color in the middle of a fight.

  11. David (@hdavid80)
    31st July 2013, 14:46

    Indeed, the move on the right direction. This is exactly the type of hires that Ferrari needed.

    Yet, another move showing how engineers and designers are the stars that make things happen. And I am pretty sure they are as frustrated as Fernando…

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