ZitatJames Allison closing in on Ferrari move, but no deal yet By Jonathan Noble Thursday, May 9th 2013, 10:19 GMT
James Allison is closing in on a move to join Ferrari in a senior technical position, AUTOSPORT has learned, but a deal is not done yet.
After intense speculation about the future of Allison, whose exit as technical director at Lotus was confirmed on Wednesday, AUTOSPORT understands that he and Ferrari are working towards an agreement.
If the talks come off, then Allison will return to the team where he spent five years from 2000 during its most successful recent spell.
It is not clear exactly what position Allison is being lined up for, but it is likely that he will work alongside its current technical director Pat Fry as the outfit bids to bolster its structure.
However, no deal is yet in place, which means there remains the remote possibility that a move may not come off if final terms cannot be agreed.
With no contract yet finalised, and non-disclosure agreements in place over the discussions, Ferrari has played down talk about Allison rejoining the team.
When asked whether Allison was joining the team, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said at an event in Maranello on Wednesday: "I don't know any truth in that. I must deny it."
However, when speaking about the wider Allison situation, di Montezemolo later said: "We will communicate when there is news to say, but not where there are rumours."
Allison, who is one of the most highly-rated design engineers in F1, has been the target of several teams in recent months with his contract at Lotus coming to an end later this year.
McLaren made an approach in the wake of Paddy Lowe's switch to Mercedes, but was declined, while Williams is also understood to have sounded Allison out about a senior team role.
Of other teams that would be logical contenders, Mercedes already has a wealth of senior technical figures, while Red Bull still remains fully focused on the structure that revolves around Adrian Newey.
Lotus has replaced Allison with Nick Chester with immediate effect.
Hmm indeed, this story is becoming a bit ungraceful. I had a big suspicion that the move was to Ferrari, as the news was first reported in Italian scores. I can see how this works, Lotus are to competitive for Ferrari this season so this is a good way to try and eliminate the competition. But this is also not shining well on Allison, if he doesn't even have a deal yet.
I think LdM is bluffing. Deal is already done. First he kick Kimi out of Ferrari in 2009. Now that Kimi is doing well at Lotus he poached Kimi's team TD! " title="mad" />
Zitat von SonnyI was my" title="ohmy" /> to see he was still negotiating. So did he suddenly leave lotus even without a deal?
It's hard to understand the proper timing and reasons behind all of this..
Perhaps he already has a deal but Ferrari doesn't want announce it right now, for whatever reason.
If he just left Lotus to wait for the highest bidder, then it will not make him look good. He has obviously done a great job, and I see everyone quoting the stats form the last two seasons, but at the end of the day a lot of what Lotus has achieved also has to do with Lotus having a competent driver, who is able to consistently get good results. If it was just Grosjean and whoever in the team, then they would not be looking like title contenders right now. That said, he most likely already has a deal with Ferrari, this falls well into Ferrari's sphere of politics just like they paid Kimi to not drive in F1.
Zitat von icemaidI think LdM is bluffing. Deal is already done. First he kick Kimi out of Ferrari in 2009. Now that Kimi is doing well at Lotus he poached Kimi's team TD!
I'm trying not to jump to that conclusion, " title="ice" /> .
But it's hard to see why Ferrari need Allison. They have Pat Fry and a man in charge of the 2014 car all ready.. " title="dunno" />
ZitatSorry for the delay. Diriment impediments and obligations incumbent. From tomorrow, however, I go back to normal. In the meantime, waiting for Allison and Kimi in Maranello, you can use this space to coment the Free Practice at Barcelona.
ZitatThe Great Debate! Ted Kravitz and David Croft head-to-head on the significance of James Allison's exit from Lotus Could Enstone Technical Director's exit prompt Kimi to follow suit?
Following the confirmation that Technical Director James Allison is leaving Lotus for pastures new, Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz and David Croft play devil's advocate and debate whether his exit will signal a demise in the team's fortunes - and what it might mean for the future of Kimi Raikkonen...
Ted: "I think it is a major blow for Lotus. James Allison has been part of their success recently - they won races last year, they have won races already this year, Kimi Raikkonen has finished in the top three of the Championship - and that is largely down to the technical leadership James Allison brought to the team.
"I think this is going to signal a downturn in Lotus's fortunes- not just because they are losing a talented leader, but also because there must have been a reason he went. He wouldn't have walked away from Lotus if everything was rosey and the team was well funded to bring the developments they needed for the car - so it exposes wider problems in the team and that is why he has gone. I think they are going to go downhill from here."
Crofty: "Not in the terms of Franz Klammer [the 1976 Olympic Downhill Skier gold medallist!] are they going to go downhill - just because one man leaves a team of 400 employees, it does not mean they are going to drop faster than a sinking stone. There is no 'I' in team, it is a collective ensemble at Lotus, there are some great guys, Nick Chester [the newly-appointed Lotus Technical Director following Allison's departure] is a fine designer of cars and aerodynamics and he can fill the void James Allison is going to leave and there are a group of guys who can fill in behind.
"What Lotus probably have a problem with is that they do not have the budget of Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes and that hampers them more than one man leaving, even if it is James Allison who is one of the best guys in the business.
Ted "But 'best man in the business' is the point. If you look at James Allison's track record, he was at Ferrari during the Schumacher years, and what were they doing? Winning World Championship after World Championship. He then goes to Renault and he wins a World Championship with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and then another in 2006.
"My worry is that James Allison leaves and Kimi Raikkonen, their star driver, starts to think 'ok, what am I doing here if the guys are starting to desert the ship?'. I think we are starting to look at Kimi thinking that 'if one of the most talented guys in Formula 1 then maybe I am going to leave for Red Bull as well' - and that's a deal we think might already have been done.
Crofty: "In which case James Allison going makes no difference because Kimi is already on his way out! I'm sorry Ted, but people move around in Formula 1 all the time: Paddy Lowe has left McLaren, is that why they are so bad this year? Well no, the car was probably worse before Paddy went to the GT3 project. People move around, teams have good years and they have bad years - and next year it's not going to be down to the James Allisons of this world to design a great car, it's going to be about who has the best engines and energy recovery systems to go with it.
"James Allison is just one small cog in what makes a successful season for a team. Lotus wont miss him this year. Next year? If Renault get their act together, they might not miss him at all."
ZitatRaikkonen unsure of impact of Allison departure ESPN Staff
Kimi Raikkonen says he is unsure what impact James Allison's departure will have on Lotus but says it won't play a key role in his own future.
Lotus announced that Allison would be leaving the team and be replaced as technical director by Nick Chester on Wednesday, with Allison's ultimate destination not yet known. With such an influential figure leaving despite the team's recent success, Raikkonen said it remains to be seen whether it will affect the team or not.
"I don't know, time will tell," Raikkonen said. "I don't know the reasons behind it, it's not my thing to comment; you'll have to ask himself. I don't know what the reasons were.
"[I got to know him] a little bit obviously because we've been working in the same team but day-by-day we don't have much to do really and in he doesn't come to all the races. This is normal; I work with the engineers and obviously he hears all the things that we do. We will see in the future what happens."
However, Raikkonen said the change of technical director was not a cause of concern for him.
"Not really, we don't know if it's going to change anything or what's going to change. Obviously there had to be people who replace him already but we will see if it has any effect on what the future will bring but I really don't have any idea."
When asked if it would impact on his own future at the team, Raikkonen replied: "There are many things and I will purely make my decision on wherever I feel is the right place for me."
Pushed on whether Red Bull was an appealing destination for him with the way they treat their drivers, Raikkonen said he hadn't given any thought to other teams.
"I don't know what they do. I see the same things as you guys, I have no more knowledge on what other teams do and I have no interest to try to look in to it because I have my own work to do. Like I said, my decision will be purely on what I think is the best overall for me and we'll see what happens in the future.
"I have no idea what will happen and right now I don't really even put much thought in to it because we have only done four races. So it's an awful long season to go and it's a long time until the next year so for now we'll put the effort in for this race and this season and see in the future what happens."
If he's had several 'lucrative' offers before, why move now? Reports suggest there's no deal yet, so why is he on gardening leave? Contradictory isn't it?
I think the team has been in trouble for quite sometime with engines and financially, but they've done a good job of hiding it.
Lotus fought to get a good big sponsor to help them sustain the road towards the top but failed to do so. financials are always a headache.
Allison likes working in lotus but hes now on his prime, has top market value and feels its now or never. He has offers but stays in the team hoping for funding that never comes. Reaches his set limits and decided to make his move. The team is aware of that, they prepare together a replacement and a graceful exit for both parties.
A deal is already made with another team, but cant be exposed until the next team has settled its internal matters. They decide to start the non compete period when the news leak to the press. Allison gets some rest thinking of the future and Lotus hopes to keep the current momentum. I think we must hope that too since Kimi is there, giving a fight.
Lesson for me once more: as much as i hate the idea, money talks. Lotus fought for a dream team but could not sustain the operation. I just hope now things stay on Kimi's side for the rest of the season.
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Thu May 09, 2013 2:35 pm
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