Mercedes CTO Mike Elliott reportedly resigns with immediate effect

Mercedes chief technical officer and former technical director Mike Elliott has reportedly resigned with immediate effect, ending an 11-year partnership with the team.

Mike came under fire early in the season when the 'zero sidepod' concept conceived by him proved to have a limited upper bound limit, forcing the team to change course.

Mike Elliott has been a part of the team for more than a decade since he joined the team in 2012 as the head of aerodynamics. He was part of the super team that conceived the inconquerable Mercedes cars in the early turbo hybrid era. He was promoted to technology director in 2017, after which he worked alongside James Allison.

In 2021, when Allison parted ways with Mercedes, Elliott took over as the technical director. The 2021 F1 season was a struggle though, as the team was caught off-guard with the floor regulations brought in specifically for that season.

The team eventually recovered and by the end of the season, Lewis Hamilton arguably had a quicker car than Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

The 2022 F1 season and the introduction of ground effect proved to be another obstacle for Mercedes. Mike Elliott took responsibility for the team going ahead with the innovative 'no-sidepod' concept.

While the team did recover to an extent by the end of the 2022 season, the car fell back again at the start of the 2023 F1 season. That led to the team CEO openly renouncing the concept and proclaiming that the team needed to go in a different direction.

With that announcement, Elliott was moved from the technical director role to the position of CTO, while James Allison was brought back from his time off. As reported by formu1a.uno, Mike has now submitted his resignation and will depart with immediate effect.

The report states:

"After more than 20 years of work in the field, almost always on the front line, the now former Mercedes has decided to take this break. Yesterday there was a discussion defined as friendly, in tone and manner, with Toto Wolff, and today was his last day of operation at the Brackley headquarters."

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Mike Elliott should have plenty of options after Mercedes departure

Mike Elliott is still a prized asset and will likely be in demand across the grid. It should not be forgotten that he was the director of the team that had the most dominant era in the history of the sport.

One of the names that might be at the top of the list would be Alpine. The French team does not have a technical director at the moment, and Mike should bring a wealth of knowledge to the team.

To add to this, there is a possibility of Audi or even Andretti having conversations with Mike. The future is bright for the 49-year-old, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he ends up in the paddock as soon as next season.