Lotus F1 technical boss James Allison switches team

James Allison

Lotus on Wednesday confirmed multiple media reports claiming technical director James Allison is leaving the team.

The Enstone based squad said 45-year-old Briton Allison, who earlier this year was linked with a move to Mercedes or McLaren, will be replaced in the role by Nick Chester.

"He (Chester) is already directly involved with this and next year's cars, ensuring a smooth transition which has been underway for some time," said team boss Eric Boullier.

However, writing on Twitter, Sky commentator Martin Brundle surmised that Kimi Raikkonen, who has been linked with a move to Red Bull for 2014, "won't be pleased" with Wednesday's news.

"Key tech personnel changes as important as top driver moves," he added.

A report by the BBC linked Allison, who worked at Ferrari in the highly successful Michael Schumacher era between 2000 and 2005, with a return to the Italian team.

It is believed, however, that several teams had approached Allison, whose F1 career began in the early nineties.

See all Lotus F1 info & statistics.

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