Mercedes’ F1 drivers on Thursday came to the defence of Mike Elliott, the team’s sacked former technical director, whose most recent career tenure coincided with a bold but controversial and uncompetitive car design strategy. As the black-clad Silver Arrows grapple to change directions on Elliott’s ‘no sidepods’ car concept, Lewis Hamilton insists it’s unfair to cast Elliott as the fall guy.
“His contract was coming to an end and he has made the decision to move on. We can’t look at him negatively,” said the seven time world champion, adding that he hopes to maintain his “great relationship” with Elliott despite the professional parting of ways.
George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, chimed in by reminding the paddock that the creation of a successful F1 car is a collective rather than solo endeavour: “It’s not a bad car. And success is never achieved by one person. It’s always a team effort.” Russell did, however, acknowledge that the still Elliott-led Mercedes technical office perhaps reached too ambitiously between the ’22 and ’23 seasons, leading to hasty development decisions that now require a more meticulous approach. “The work will be done more thoroughly now,” he explained.
Despite a recent upgrade that seems to have favoured Hamilton with consecutive second-place finishes, Russell contends that his own recent dip in form isn’t due to an inability to adapt to the new parts. “I feel good with the new upgrades,” he said, attributing his less impressive performance to a series of race-specific issues rather than a systemic problem with the car or himself.
Russell also argued that his and Hamilton’s contrasting driving styles influences their respective aerodynamic setups. “Honestly, I can feel the upgrade. But the car isn’t really different. It just has more downforce,” he said.
But looking ahead to this weekend’s Brazilian GP, where Russell managed his maiden victory a year ago, he remains cautiously optimistic. While acknowledging that Mercedes could be strong again at Interlagos, he notes, “Red Bull are also a bit stronger than they were last year.”
And with the final ‘sprint’ weekend now looming, Russell admitted that teams – notably Mercedes – will be wary of the skid-plank wear issues that led to Hamilton’s disqualification in Austin. “I think a lot of the teams will be approaching this one more conservatively,” he concluded.
