Kravitz questions Mercedes ‘dream team’ ahead of ‘24 following latest departure

Ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Mercedes announced that chief technical officer Mike Elliott would be leaving the team after 11 years.

Elliott was the team’s technical director from 2021 to 2023, presiding over the design of the uncompetitive W13 and W14.

As a result, Elliott swapped roles with James Allison, who is now the team’s technical director.

It marked another major departure from Mercedes, with Andy Cowell, James Vowles and Aldo Costa among the high-profile departures in recent years.

With Mercedes looking to bounce back in 2024 - and mount a serious challenge to Red Bull - Kravitz cast doubt about the Mercedes ‘dream team’ and whether it can still deliver in F1.

“This is the first race since the departure of chief technical officer Mike Elliott who was instrumental in so much of their success, even though he was in charge of the design group which cost these last two cars so wrong,” he said.

“Is the Mercedes dream team changing fundamentally now, in a way that they can quickly bounce back from and become that dream team again? James Allison is still there, Toto Wolff is still there, Andrew Shovlin is still there. 

“But there have been some key departures - Andy Cowell, James Vowles, [Aldo Costa]. I am just wondering, like all dream teams change, whether there is some transformation here. 

“Whether they are going through a change, and whether that dream team ethic and quality can survive next year?

“Hamilton believes they can. So we have to believe they can, as well. But that’s going to be a challenge, going forward.”