Lewis Hamilton leaps to defence of departed Mercedes figure over concept claim

Lewis Hamilton has refuted suggestions former Mercedes chief technical officer Mike Elliott, who departed the team earlier week, was to blame for the misfired ‘zero-pod’ concept.

Replacing James Allison as Mercedes’ technical director, Elliott was at the helm as Formula 1 entered the ground-effect aerodynamic era in 2022 with Mercedes stumping their rivals as they debuted the zero-pod concept.

The only car on the grid sporting the minimalistic look, it was thought Mercedes had either pulled a trick out of their extensive championship-winning hat, or they got it wrong.

Lewis Hamilton denies Mike Elliott was to blame for failed zero-pod concept

Time would show it to be the latter.

Winning just one race with the W13 late in the season, it came as a surprise to many when Mercedes carried the concept through into this year’s championship.

Hamilton bemoaned it, saying he “told them the issues that are with the car” but that Mercedes didn’t listen.

Woefully off the pace of the rampant Red Bull RB19, Mercedes scrapped the zero-pods at the Monaco Grand Prix and went with a bulkier design.

That, along with the other changes introduced in Monte Carlo, brought a notable performance gain and opened the doors for Mercedes to further develop the car.

But with Elliott parting ways with the team on Tuesday, that coming six months after Mercedes moved him out of the role of technical director, it has been suggested he was the “defender” of the failed zero-pod concept.

Hamilton has denied this.

“What we have to remember is nothing is down to one person. We do everything as a team,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“There are so many moving parts at the factory, so there’s not a single individual responsible for where we are, it’s a collective.”

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Lewis Hamilton reveals Mike Elliott decided to leave

Elliott’s departure brought to an end his 11-year stint with Mercedes with the Briton having played an integral role in the team’s glory years as the chief aerodynamicist before being promoted to technical director.

“I’m definitely sad to see Mike go,” Hamilton added. “I have known him since my McLaren days, before I raced for McLaren (in F1) he was there. I have had a great relationship with Mike. I’ve loved working with him, within this team. He’s such an intelligent individual.

“He was someone I would always speak to on aerodynamics. He was amazing at explaining everything to me, so I learned a lot from him.

“But it’s his decision to move on and do something different. I wish him absolutely all the best and I’m super grateful for all his contributions over these years. I know whatever he’s going to do next, he’s going to be great because he’s a super brain.”

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