This weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix will mark the one-season anniversary of Mercedes’s last victory in Formula 1.
Mercedes that day appeared to be turning a corner after a difficult start to life under the then new regulations. The one-two led by George Russell was a shot in the arm and was assumed to be a sign that it would return to regular victory contention this season.
But 2023 has been scarcely better. Though the team has improved to second in the constructors standings, it is no closer to scoring a meritorious victory.
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Almost exactly one year on from that last win, it’s announced that it will part ways with its chief technical officer. Will it be the clean break it needs to return to the front?
MERCEDES TECHNICAL BOSS LEAVES TEAM
Mercedes chief technical officer Mike Elliott has left the team near the end of a second uncompetitive season under the current regulations.
The team said Elliott’s sudden departure was his own decision.
Elliott had already been shuffled away from the day-to-day running of the design office in April, when it became clear this year’s car wasn’t a substantial improvement on last year’s uncompetitive machine. It means his departure will have limited impact on the team’s immediate and medium-term prospects.
Team principal Toto Wolff said Elliott’s departure was a bittersweet day for the squad.
“It’s with truly mixed feelings that we say goodbye to him today,” he said. “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.
“But on the other side, it’s clear that he’s ready for new adventures beyond Mercedes, so I know this is the right step for him to take too.”
Elliott said the team would benefit in the long run for its struggles over the last two years.
“Although the last two seasons have not seen us winning races in the manner we aspire to, they have tested us in many other ways and forced us to question our fundamental assumptions about how we deliver performance.
“During the past six months I have enjoyed developing the technical strategy that we hope can provide the foundations of the team’s next cycle of success.”
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Elliott joined the team in 2012 as head of aerodynamics and worked his way up to the role of technical director in 2021, when incumbent James Allison stepped back from day-to-day operations.
On his watch Mercedes suffered a steep decline in competitiveness, winning just one race since the end of its title-winning 2021 campaign.
In April this year Mercedes brought Allison back into the fold as technical director and shifted Elliott into the supervisory chief technical officer role, which gave him responsibility for the team’s long-term technical strategy but kept him away from in-season development duties.
“With this plan now in place and in the process of delivery, Mike has decided to take a break from the sport in the coming months before deciding upon his next challenge,” the team said in a statement.
The team’s last victory was at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix on 13 November.
LIAM LAWSON FALLS SHORT IN SUPER FORMULA BATTLE
Kiwi Formula 1 hopeful Liam Lawson has missed out on the Super Formula championship in his maiden season by just eight points in a tense finale in Suzuka.
Lawson started the double-header final weekend eight points down on title leader Ritomo Miyata, but his championship hopes took a blow on Saturday, when an enormous crash between Hiroki Otsu and Ukyo Sasahara forced the first race to be called off after only five laps.
Otsu and Sasahara collided through the rapid 130R, sending both cars hurtling into the wall.
The barrier caught Otsu, who was able to walk away, but Sasahara’s car hurtled over the fence and down to the Degner corners in the second sector, where the circuit crosses over itself in a figure of eight. He was kept in hospital overnight with a concussion.
The damage to the barriers was too severe to repair in time to resume the race, leaving Lawson with an unlikely 15-point margin to overhaul on Sunday.
He took three bonus points for pole position, but second place in the race with Miyata in third wasn’t enough to bridge the gap, leaving him eight points short of what would have been an extraordinary maiden title in the tough Japanese series.
Lawson is without a drive in Formula 1 next year despite an impressive five-race stint substituting for Daniel Ricciardo while the Aussie recovered from a broken hand.
Red Bull will retain him as a reserve driver with a view to placing him on the grid in 2025.
“It’s frustrating to not be driving next year, but I will continue to make the most of still being involved in Formula 1 at least,” he told the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“I’m a Red Bull driver. If I ever get a chance in Formula 1, it’ll be through Red Bull Racing. I think it would be Red Bull that give me my shot.”
‘Nowhere to go’: Leclerc reacts to boos | 01:05
F1 FAN BANNED FOR LIFE AFTER MEXICO DUST-UP
A Formula 1 fan has been slapped with a lifetime ban from attending races after assaulting two Ferrari supporters in the grandstands at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Video circulating on social media shows a man dressed in a grey T-shirt making a beeline towards two fans dressed in red Ferrari gear in the Foro Sol, the stadium section near the end of the circuit.
Despite several spectators attempting to block the man’s path, he was able to reach and strike both Ferrari supporters. One falls to the ground, where he’s set upon by the offender.
The second red-clad fan attempts to fight back, at which point another man in the crowd grabs the assailant in a headlock, ending the incident.
Formula 1 said in a statement that the offender had been identified and ejected from the stadium by circuit security and that it would impose a lifetime ban on the man for all F1 events.
While the cause of the incident is unclear, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was heavily booed by fans in the Foro Sol, which overlooks the podium, after finishing second.
Leclerc and home hero Sergio Pérez had made contact at the first corner that put the Mexican out of the race. It was declared a racing incident, though Pérez had instigated the contact with a botched attempt to take the lead.
The stadium incident follows pre-race concerns about safety at the race, with Max Verstappen taking extra security with him owing to the local build-up of his rivalry with teammate Pérez, who is under pressure to keep his seat next season.
