Lotus is expected to confirm today that technical director James Allison is leaving the team.
He will be replaced by erstwhile engineering director Nick Chester.
The change appears to have happened very quickly given that Allison was quoted in the team’s Spanish GP preview on Friday.
It’s not yet clear where Allison is headed, but he was linked with McLaren several months ago and would be a major catch for any team in the pit lane given the recent competitiveness of Lotus. The major team most in need of someone of his stature is Williams.
Allison started his career at Benetton in 1991, returning after a brief spell with Larrousse. He worked under Ross Brawn at Ferrari from 2000 to 2005 before returning once more to Enstone and the renamed Renault team. He was made technical director in 2009.
His departure could harm Lotus’s chances of hanging into Kimi Raikkonen in 2014 as the Finn has suggested in the past that Allison is one of the major reasons why he has remained loyal to the Enstone organisation.
Adam Cooper F1 