Tables have turned drastically this F1 season ever since seven-time world champion and Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Scuderia Ferrari. What followed was a series of movement of drivers and engineers across the paddock as multiple personnel jumped ships, some more significant than the others.
Senior most engineer Adrian Newey called it quits on Red Bull followed by Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley. Ferrari, meanwhile, are also restructuring the internal team under team principal Fred Vasseur’s leadership. And if reports are to be believed, a key Mercedes engineer could reunite with Lewis Hamilton at Maranello next season.
Mike Elliott On Gardening Leave; Could Leave Mercedes in 2025
Mercedes covered unimaginable ground after a couple of upgrades to win three races of the last four weekends conducted heading into the summer break. Needless to say, the engineers back at the Brackley factory have been working day and night to ring in at least a couple of new parts every weekend. However, as per recent rumours, Silver Arrows’ engineering team is likely to be reduced by next season. After Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari for the 2025 season, speculations suggest that Mike Elliott could also be leaving for Maranello next year. Motorsport Italia reported that Elliott is on gardening leave and will be allowed to leave the organization by the end of the 2024 season.
Notably, Mike Elliott played a key role in Mercedes’s dominant era from 2014-2020. However, after the team failed to crack the current ground effect regulations, which resulted in two underwhelming seasons, the Silver Arrows dropped Elliot from his role as Chief Technical Officer to promote James Allison instead. Additionally, Enrico Cardile recently confirmed his move to Aston Martin, thus vacating the technical director role at Ferrari. Elliott will be a perfect replacement if he decides to indeed shift base to Maranello. Besides Mike Elliott, Ferrari was also keen on pursuing Adrian Newey. However, Newey is sceptical about leaving Britain and moving to Italy. Also, Newey’s monetary ask is more significant than what was initially offered by Fred Vasseur. Regardless, Mike Elliot will also be a significant upgrade if Scuderia Ferrari successfully lures him to Maranello.
Toto Wolff’s Feet Grounded Despite Silver Arrows Performance Gains
Mercedes have turned around the season dramatically after being pushed to mid-field earlier this year. They won three of the last four races, including a victory in Spa and Silverstone. However, despite the positive trajectory, team principal Toto Wolff urged the team to keep its feet grounded and not get too ahead of themselves. “I don’t think we should really pre-empt the second half,” Wolff said.
Toto Wolff explained that the fight to the top has gotten intense and Mercedes no longer have to beat just Red Bull. McLaren and Ferrari are equal rivals. “I think we can be carefully optimistic. But, we gotta prove it. There’s 10 races to go,” Wolff further added. Indeed, the Austrian’s assessment is spot on, as the gap is not the closest it has been in the past two years.
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