F1: Where will Mike Elliott take Mercedes F1 secrets?

To say Mike Elliott does not know all the Mercedes F1 design secrets would be an understatement. He had worked there for 11 years.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Elliott has stepped down from his role as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at Mercedes F1. He has chosen to leave the German constructor.

He excelled working under Aldo Costa, the other genius F1 designer who made Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, but when Costa retired, Elliott was no longer effective and Lewis Hamilton stopped winning.

For 11 years Elliott was employed by Mercedes, but now he has chosen to quit the team himself, having been pushed aside. Elliott became technical director to replace James Allison in 2021, but this year the two switched roles again when the team brought Allison back.

With Mercedes’ chief technical officer gone, the question quickly bubbled up: which Formula 1 teams want all of Mercedes inside secrets?

Williams

Elliott worked with James Vowles at Mercedes for years.  Now that Vowles runs the Williams team, and he knows Elliott’s capabilities as well as his limitations, might he find a place for him?

Haas

The Haas team is a mess and going backward. They certainly could use Elliott to learn all of Mercedes’ inside secrets.

Andretti-Cadillac

Michael Andretti already said he has hired a Technical Director, and he would be announced in due time, but adding Elliott would give the new team (if approved to enter F1) all of Mercedes’ latest design secrets

Sauber/Audi

Audi may want to bring in their own Technical Director when they take over the team, but to have the inside secrets of their German rival would be a feather in their cap.