Lotus has today announced the promotion of current engineering director Nick Chester to replace the departing James Allison.
Allison's departure comes as a shock to some after he led them to victory at the opening round of the season in Australia, however this rumour has been suggested for some time and the talented former University of Cambridge graduate certainly has a long line of teams interested in signing him.
Nick Chester, who has worked for Lotus since it's days as Benetton, will replace Allison and spoke about the new role in a team statement. Discussing the new role he said "I have worked at Enstone for over twelve years and am delighted to take on the role of Technical Director. I am grateful to the management at Enstone for the faith they have in promoting me to this position."
He added "I am very aware of our need to keep pushing development of this year's E21 whilst developing next year's car to a set of very different regulations." Chester said that there are "exciting times" ahead for the team and that he is "honoured" to be a part of it.
Replacing such a praised and highly respected figure mid-way through the season could be seen as a mistake, particularly as focus switches to 2014. However Chester has been deeply involved in the development, confirmed Eric Boullier when discussing the changes.
The Lotus F1 Team Principal said "He is already directly involved with this and next year's cars, ensuring a smooth transition which has been underway for some time."
Allison's potential departure has been discussed and speculated for some time in the Formula 1 paddock. He has been linked to all of the top teams along with Williams, but he reportedly turned down a move to McLaren and talks with Mercedes over the winter halted after they poached Paddy Lowe from Lewis Hamilton's former team.
As Allison departs, another well respected character emerges from his shadows. Nick Chester worked for Arrows before moving to Benetton, progressing up the ranks to his new post as Technical Director. "Nick is well known to everyone at Enstone having been with the team for over 12 years," said Boullier.
His experience and loyalty to the team has certainly been rewarded by this new role, the team showing plenty of belief in his abilities. Boullier commented on this and said "It's an illustration of the strength and breadth of talent at Enstone that we can draw on personnel of the calibre of Nico and it's something of an Enstone tradition for new technical directors to be promoted from within."
Formula 1 embarks upon a new era in 2014 with the introduction of V6 Turbo engines, so Chester is certainly assuming his new position at a busy and "exciting time." Boullier continued "The 2014 technical regulation changes present many challenges, while our current position of second place in both the constructors' and drivers' world championships mean we cannot lose sight of this year's development battle."
He admits that the promotion will not be easy but Boullier put his belief and faith in Chester and his skills. "Nick really has his work cut out, but we know he is more than capable of handling the tasks ahead."
So what next for Allison? The move came as quite a shock to some due to the recent success of the team and the rumour mill is in full swing. Toto Wolff has already told the BBC that Allison was approached by the Mercedes non-executive director Niki Laud. Meanwhile the broadcaster also believe that he turned down an offer from McLaren and a Red Bull source ruled out a move to the Milton Keynes based squad.
Allison joined the Benetton team to work in their Aerodynamic department before moving to Larrousse. He then returned to Enstone for a second stint but gave that up to work for Ferrari in 2000, just as Nico Chester arrived at the then Benetton squad.
After five years with Ferrari he returned to Enstone, who were now called "Renault" as the teams Deputy Technical Director before being promoted to his most recent role in 2009.
Whilst the gradual easing in from Chester into the technical director role, which Boullier said has been happening for "some time", has helped to limit the impact of losing James Allison, the dramatic shake up will certainly be a big blow for the team.
This was made evident by the tribute paid by Eric Boullier to the now departing Allison, which said "As a team and individually, we would all like to thank James Allison for his efforts during his three stints at Enstone and wish him all the best in his future endeavours."
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Nick Chester, who has worked for Lotus since it's days as Benetton, will replace Allison and spoke about the new role in a team statement. Discussing the new role he said "I have worked at Enstone for over twelve years and am delighted to take on the role of Technical Director. I am grateful to the management at Enstone for the faith they have in promoting me to this position."
He added "I am very aware of our need to keep pushing development of this year's E21 whilst developing next year's car to a set of very different regulations." Chester said that there are "exciting times" ahead for the team and that he is "honoured" to be a part of it.
Replacing such a praised and highly respected figure mid-way through the season could be seen as a mistake, particularly as focus switches to 2014. However Chester has been deeply involved in the development, confirmed Eric Boullier when discussing the changes.
The Lotus F1 Team Principal said "He is already directly involved with this and next year's cars, ensuring a smooth transition which has been underway for some time."
Allison's potential departure has been discussed and speculated for some time in the Formula 1 paddock. He has been linked to all of the top teams along with Williams, but he reportedly turned down a move to McLaren and talks with Mercedes over the winter halted after they poached Paddy Lowe from Lewis Hamilton's former team.
As Allison departs, another well respected character emerges from his shadows. Nick Chester worked for Arrows before moving to Benetton, progressing up the ranks to his new post as Technical Director. "Nick is well known to everyone at Enstone having been with the team for over 12 years," said Boullier.
His experience and loyalty to the team has certainly been rewarded by this new role, the team showing plenty of belief in his abilities. Boullier commented on this and said "It's an illustration of the strength and breadth of talent at Enstone that we can draw on personnel of the calibre of Nico and it's something of an Enstone tradition for new technical directors to be promoted from within."
Formula 1 embarks upon a new era in 2014 with the introduction of V6 Turbo engines, so Chester is certainly assuming his new position at a busy and "exciting time." Boullier continued "The 2014 technical regulation changes present many challenges, while our current position of second place in both the constructors' and drivers' world championships mean we cannot lose sight of this year's development battle."
He admits that the promotion will not be easy but Boullier put his belief and faith in Chester and his skills. "Nick really has his work cut out, but we know he is more than capable of handling the tasks ahead."
So what next for Allison? The move came as quite a shock to some due to the recent success of the team and the rumour mill is in full swing. Toto Wolff has already told the BBC that Allison was approached by the Mercedes non-executive director Niki Laud. Meanwhile the broadcaster also believe that he turned down an offer from McLaren and a Red Bull source ruled out a move to the Milton Keynes based squad.
Allison joined the Benetton team to work in their Aerodynamic department before moving to Larrousse. He then returned to Enstone for a second stint but gave that up to work for Ferrari in 2000, just as Nico Chester arrived at the then Benetton squad.
After five years with Ferrari he returned to Enstone, who were now called "Renault" as the teams Deputy Technical Director before being promoted to his most recent role in 2009.
Whilst the gradual easing in from Chester into the technical director role, which Boullier said has been happening for "some time", has helped to limit the impact of losing James Allison, the dramatic shake up will certainly be a big blow for the team.
This was made evident by the tribute paid by Eric Boullier to the now departing Allison, which said "As a team and individually, we would all like to thank James Allison for his efforts during his three stints at Enstone and wish him all the best in his future endeavours."
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