Following the collapse of the Adrian Newey deal, Ferrari is reportedly considering a major new signing, with former Mercedes chief technical officer Mike Elliott in the spotlight.
Initially, Ferrari was the frontrunner to sign the legendary British car designer for next year after he officially confirmed his departure from Red Bull. However, various problems have surfaced, derailing the negotiations. Ultimately, Aston Martin’s staggering $100 million offer and their willingness to accept all of his demands regarding his staff and decision-making powers seems to have clinched Adrian Newey’s future, with an announcement expected in September, according to the Italian media.
In light of this, Ferrari is now reportedly eyeing Mike Elliott, who left Mercedes in October last year. Mike Elliott’s departure ended a remarkable 23-year career in Formula 1, which began in 2000. He was instrumental in Mercedes’ dominant era, contributing to their seven consecutive championship doubles from 2014 to 2020, as well as their most rcent Constructors’ title, which was secured in 2021, when Lewis Hamilton lost the Drivers’ title in controversial manner in the last race of the season.
At the time of his departure, Mercedes stated that Mike Elliott had “decided to take a break from the sport in the coming months, before deciding upon his next challenge.” According to the Italian version of the Motorsport website, that decision may be imminent.
Having already lost Italian aerodynamicist and former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin, and now with Adrian Newey seemingly out of reach, the Maranello team reportedly has a ‘Mister X’ in mind to replace Enrico Cardile. This ‘Mister X’ is said to be ‘not Italian,’ and there is speculation that Mike Elliott might be the chosen successor to former Ferrari Head of the Aerodynamics Department.
Furthermore, with Lewis Hamilton joining Scuderia Ferrari starting with the upcoming Formula 1 championship and long-time Mercedes engineer Loic Serra stepping in as Ferrari’s Head of Chassis Performance Engineering in October, signs are increasingly pointing towards Mike Elliott. As the publication notes, few profiles of the F1 aerodynamicist’s caliber are available on the market at this stage.
When questioned about Enrico Cardile’s replacement at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps during the last race weekend before the summer break, team principal Frederic Vasseur remained tight-lipped, giving no hints as to who might fill the role: “I will fill the position during the summer break as it is easiest, but just after the summer break, we will announce the new organisation,” – the French manager replied – “But at the end of the day, we have a group of more than 200 people working on these cars, and with 200 people, one person [leaving] is not always a drama.”
The media of course insisted on this matter and the Ferrari team principal decided to give them a hint: “I have a couple of names with five letters.”
Mike Elliott, who is currently on gardening leave, is expected to be available to join a new team at the beginning of 2025. In the meantime, regarding Ferrari’s ongoing restructuring process, it seems Diego Tondi may have inadvertently revealed his own promotion at Ferrari, despite no official announcement from the team. Diego Tondi updated his LinkedIn profile, changing his title from Head of Aerodynamic Development to Ferrari’s Head of Aerodynamics.
