James Allison is “in his element” back in the Formula 1 paddock. That is the view not only of 55-year-old Allison himself, who has returned to the top technical job at Mercedes after an absence, but also team driver George Russell. “Mike (Elliot) is absolutely in his element in his new role,” Russell said at Baku. He said the fact that Allison has returned to replace Elliot, who moves into a more future-focused role, should not reflect poorly on Elliot. “He’s one of the smartest engineers I know,” Russell said of Elliot. “Just being back at the racetrack is a lot of fun,” he said. “The car is simply too slow,” team boss Toto Wolff said on Friday. He said the Allison-Elliot role swap was simply a “sober reflection of what we’re both good at”.

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