Mercedes director’s ‘strange transition’ to top job

Henry Valantine
Lewis Hamilton climbs into his Mercedes W12. Austin October 2021

HAMILTON Lewis gbr, Mercedes AMG F1 GP W12 E Performance, portrait during the Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix 2021, 17th round of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship, WM, Weltmeisterschaft from October 21 to 24, 2021 on the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, United States of American - F1 - UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2021 DPPI/Panoramic 00121035_F12021GP17USA_JK198884.

Mike Elliott admitted it has been a “strange transition” for him after stepping up to become Mercedes technical director, now he is managing long-time friends and colleagues.

Elliott took over the technical director mantle from James Allison in mid-2021, who moved across to become Mercedes-AMG’s chief technical officer, and Elliott now has added responsibility that will see him oversee a significant portion of Mercedes’ Formula 1 operation.

He joined the Mercedes team a decade ago as their head of aerodynamics, and said he “grew up” with people within the team he is now managing.

Elliott said he does not implement a dictatorial style of managing a team, and leans on the experience he has around him to get the best of them.

“I’ve moved up from technology director, where I oversaw a number of departments, to engineering director, where I’m responsible for all technical development and the race team,” Elliott said, quoted by Motorsport-Total.

“I think I’m very lucky to have a really good team around me where everyone is very experienced. It’s a strange transition because these are people I grew up with in the company and suddenly you’re the boss.

“But I think my leadership style is to get the best out of the people I work with, not to be some kind of dictator at the top.”

He added that there can be a misconception about the role of a technical director within Formula 1 teams, with the public perception being that they are at the heart of the direction of the team at every turn – but Elliott was keen to stress that his promotion has not changed his role too much.

“I think outside of teams there is sometimes an image that the technical director is involved in every single decision and controls everything. I don’t think that’s really the case in many teams. And it’s certainly not the case in this team,” he said.

 

“My job is to make sure I have the right people in the right places and give them all the tools they need to do their jobs. So in that respect, my job is not very different from what I was doing before. It’s just a bigger piece of the pie.”

Elliott and his colleagues are hard at work trying to fine-tune the W13 ahead of pre-season testing, and their 2022 car will be officially unveiled to the wider world on Friday 18 February.

 

Elliott does not believe Mercedes were in early 2021 crisis

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott doesn't think the team was in crisis early in 2021.