Russell answers if Elliott was the ‘defender' of failed Mercedes F1 car concept

Mercedes announced Elliott’s shock departure earlier this week amid another difficult - and so far winless - campaign for the eight-time constructors’ world champions.

The 49-year-old held the position on a short-lived basis after being at the heart of a major reorganisation in the Mercedes design department earlier this year, a move that saw James Allison swap roles with Elliott to return as technical director. 

At the time, Mercedes explained that the reshuffle had been instigated by Elliott. 

After running it throughout 2022 and sticking with it for the start of this season, Mercedes finally ditched their controversial ‘zeropod’ philosophy in favour of a design more in line with Red Bull’s ultra dominant RB19 at the Monaco Grand Prix in May. 

“No, it’s never one individual who makes or breaks success,” Russell replied when asked if Elliott was the “defender” of the unsuccessful W13 and W14 concept. “It’s always a collective.

“You’ve always got a leader, somebody at the helm sort of steering the ship. We have five exceptionally-talented designers, engineers, who are at the top of the design group, and then we’ve got an amazing design office, aerodynamics department below who sort of follow their lead.

“But as I said, there’s never one individual, it’s always a collective. As the saying goes, ‘We win and lose together’.

“Mike has been a huge part of the team and it’s very important to remember that he was the chief aerodynamicist during all of the glory years, and arguably that is, alongside the technical director, that is probably the most vital part of every Formula 1 team.

“So Mike has been a huge part of that success and I wish him well.”

Mercedes return to the scene of their only victory from last season at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Russell won both the Brazil sprint and grand prix, leading home teammate Lewis Hamilton for a Silver Arrows 1-2.

This year, the team have failed to reach the same heights, managing no wins and scoring just seven podiums.