Allison worked at Lotus in all its guises, since their time as Benetton, from 1991 until 2013. An aerodynamic expert, his only time away from Enstone until 2013, was a brief spell at Larrousse. He spent three years as a technical director at Ferrari before leaving the team in 2016. He joined Mercedes in 2017. Allison is the son of former RAF Air Chief Marshal, Sir John Allison, who himself worked at Jaguar Racing for a time. James is a qualified aerospace engineer, despite suffering from colour blindness, with a degree gained at Cambridge University. Allison's decision to leave Ferrari in 2016 was partly influenced by his wife Rebecca's death from meningitis in March 2016. In 2021, Allison moved into a slightly different role of Chief Technical Officer at Mercedes. Allison lives in Marcham, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire where he likes to fly his plane, continuing a passion picked up from his father, having previously enjoyed aeroplane modelling.

Biography last updated 10 Apr 2021