Toto Wolff breaks silence on Mike Elliott’s resignation, admits he was a ‘pillar’ at Mercedes

Toto Wolff appreciated Chief Technical Officer Mike Elliott's work for Mercedes over 11 years as he announced his retirement today.

Toto Wolff breaks silence on Mike Elliott’s resignation, admits he was a ‘pillar’ at Mercedes

Mike Elliott and Toto Wolff (Via IMAGO)

Mercedes Chief Technical Officer Mike Elliott has announced his retirement from the sport after giving back the position of Technical Director to James Allison earlier this year. James Allison had swapped roles with Mike Elliot in 2021, but Elliott decided his skills were not fit after Mercedes opted for zero sidepods in 2022 and the start of 2023.

Mercedes eventually was forced to join the rest of the grid due to performance loss. The Brackley-based team included sidepods in their upgraded W14 from the Monaco Grand Prix. Elliott has been with the team for over a decade, contributing heavily to the 15 championships Mercedes won in the turbo-hybrid era. Toto Wolff voiced his appreciation for Elliott, commending his involvement in building culture within the team throughout his 11-year stint. 

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…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.

Toto Wolff said, as reported by racingnews365.com

Toto Wolff said on behalf of Mercedes that they wished him the very best for his future endeavors and acknowledged that it was the right step for Elliott to take. Elliot’s career in Formula 1 has spanned 23 years, and he has held positions with Renault, McLaren, and Mercedes. Elliott’s retirement comes during a relatively difficult time for Mercedes, having won only a single race in the past two seasons.

Toto Wolff reveals Lewis Hamilton’s opinion on W14 progress

Lewis Hamilton has driven the Mercedes W14 to excellence for the second week in a row, crossing the line in P2 both times in Austin and Mexico City. Mercedes had introduced an upgrade to help the car drive more stable in Austin, which Hamilton described as a huge upgrade. Hamilton mentioned in Mexico that while the W14 was still a tough car to maneuver, the car had become “faster”.

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Toto Wolff pointed out that the vehicle Mercedes had designed initially did not have the sidepods and a lot of the aerodynamic details that it does now, so they will be hoping to develop that further next year. Wolff said the car had improved in many areas, including downforce and drivability.

I think we have seen that it is providing more downforce, more drivability, the car is a little bit less tricky..Lewis said to me yesterday ‘she’s still so difficult to drive, although she’s faster.’

Toto Wolff said, as reported by crash.net

Hamilton has finished right behind Max Verstappen four times this season and retained P2 thrice, yet the gap between the two is still significant. The Briton stressed the fact that to compete properly with Red Bull, Mercedes still has a long way to go and needs to progress competitively.

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