Mercedes has signed experienced engineer James Allison as its new technical director.

The appointment arrives following executive director Paddy Lowe’s departure from the reigning world champion in the off-season, with the Brit expected to join Williams.

Allison moves to Mercedes in a newly created technical director role similar to the position he held at Ferrari up until July last year.

The 48-year-old has enjoyed successful spells at Renault/Lotus from 2005-2012 before joining Ferrari the following year.

“I am very excited to be getting back to work after this time away from the sport,” said Allison, who will start his new role from March 1.

“It’s a massive privilege to be given the trust of a position in a team that has done so spectacularly well in the past three seasons.

“I am really looking forward to playing my part in helping Mercedes go from strength to strength in the coming years.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Allison is the perfect fit for the Brackley squad.

“I am delighted to welcome James to Mercedes and very much looking forward to working with him,” said Wolff.

“Our technical team is extremely skilled at every level and at the top of its game after delivering three world championships in a row.

“It wasn’t an easy task to find the right personality who can strengthen our experienced group of engineers, give our talented young team members the space to develop and also bring his own vision to this role.

“James is a sharp engineer; I think we have found the perfect guy and the right fit with our senior leaders.”

Meanwhile, Williams has confirmed the appointment of Dirk de Beer as its new head of aerodynamics.

After five years in the role of Head of Aerodynamics at Renault he moved to Ferrari in 2013 as Chief Aerodynamicist, where he worked until announcing his departure from the team last season.