Mercedes has announced the departure of Mike Elliott from his F1 role ahead of the end of the 2023 season.
After James Allison took up the Chief Technical Officer role at Mercedes, Elliott took charge as Technical Director after 2021. But with the team facing difficulties with its car concept where they lost out to Red Bull, they swapped back the position ahead of 2023.
Allison was back as Technical Director, while Elliott moved back to being Chief Technical Officer. But before the end of the 2023 F1 season, he has decided to leave his role with Tuesday being his last day at work in the Brackley base.
Elliott will take a break from the sport after 11 years of service to Mercedes before moving onto his next venture. “Mike has been one of the pillars of the team’s achievements over the past decade and it’s with truly mixed feelings that we say goodbye to him today,” said Toto Wolff.
“Mike is a fiercely intelligent technical brain and a great team-player; he has made a strong contribution not just to winning racing cars but also to building the culture of our team. But on the other side, it’s clear that he’s ready for new adventures beyond Mercedes – so I know this is the right step for him to take, too.
“He leaves the team today with our thanks for the effort, commitment, and expertise he has brought to the team over the past 11 years – and our very best wishes for the future.” Leaving his Mercedes role, Elliott added: “It has been one of the great privileges of my career to be part of this Mercedes team.
“During my time, I have seen it grow from a group of people pulling together to win races, then a first championship, to winning a record eight consecutive Constructors Championships. – and I am proud to have made my contribution to that journey.
“Although the last two seasons have not seen us winning races in the manner we aspire to, they have tested us in many other ways – and forced us to question our fundamental assumptions about how we deliver performance. During the past six months, I have enjoyed developing the technical strategy that we hope can provide the foundations of the team’s next cycle of success.
“I have decided that now is the right time to make my next step beyond Mercedes – first to pause and take stock, after 23 years of working flat-out in this sport, and then to find my next challenge. I would like to thank my team-mates for a fantastic 12 seasons together and wish them every success for the years to come.”
Here’s Lewis Hamilton on P2 finish
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
