Although logic suggested that Loic Serra would replace the outgoing Enrico Cardile, who has officially announced his departure from Ferrari to join Aston Martin as Chief Technical Officer starting in 2025, the former Mercedes engineer will not be replacing the Italian aerodynamicist as the new Technical Director. This position is temporarily assigned to Frederic Vasseur on an interim basis while waiting to determine who will be officially appointed after the summer break.
Could Elliott be the new Technical Director at Ferrari?
As already reported in Ferrari’s press release on May 13, Loic Serra “will take on the role of Head of Chassis Performance Engineering. Additionally, the Frenchman “will coordinate the work of various departments, including Track Engineering, Aero Development, Aero Operations, and Vehicle Performance.”
So, who will be the notorious mysterious figure tasked with working (partially) on the 2025 car but mainly focusing on the 2026 project?
With Adrian Newey now ruled out, as he seems increasingly inclined to accept Lawrence Stroll’s substantial offer at Aston Martin, the only prominent name currently available on the market and potentially operational immediately is Mike Elliott.
The British engineer, after a long stint at Mercedes and having significantly contributed to the incredible dominance of the Silver Arrows from 2014 to 2021, bid farewell to the Brackley team last October after 11 years.
Mike Elliott began his motorsport career in 2000 as an aerodynamicist with McLaren. By 2003, he had advanced to the role of trackside aerodynamicist and, by 2006, was leading the aerodynamic performance team at McLaren. In 2008, he joined the Renault F1 team as the principal aerodynamicist, remaining with the Enstone squad until 2012. That year, he transitioned to Mercedes, where he took on the position of head of aerodynamics. In 2017, Elliott was promoted to technology director, succeeding Geoff Willis. By 2021, he had risen further to become the technical director, replacing James Allison. On April 21, 2023, it was announced that Elliott and Allison would swap roles, with Allison resuming his position as technical director and Elliott stepping into the role of Chief Technical Officer.
Having succeeded James Allison as Technical Director in 2021, Mike Elliott inevitably paid the price for the unsuccessful W13 and W14 projects of 2022 and 2023, years in which there was only one victory with George Russell in Brazil and many bitter pills to swallow.
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As customary, the Briton has already observed the so-called gardening leave after leaving Mercedes, so he would potentially be recruitable among the technical staff at Maranello with immediate effect.
“I have decided that it is the right time to make my next step outside of Mercedes,” commented Elliott at the time of his departure, “first to take a break and take stock, after 23 years of non-stop work in this sport, and then to find my next challenge.”
“Although the last two seasons have not seen us winning races in the way we aspire to, they have tested us in many other ways, forcing us to question our fundamental assumptions about how we achieve performance.”
As with Adrian Newey, it remains to be seen whether Mike Elliott would be willing to leave England to move to Italy and accept a challenge where, as has become clear in recent years, the risk of failure and disappointment is extremely high.
Source: f1ingenerale
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