Nico Rosberg does not think Mike Elliott is responsible for the crisis within Mercedes. The Briton had to exchange his position as technical director at Mercedes, but according to former Mercedes driver Rosberg, Mercedes fans should not expect too many miracles from the reorganization at Mercedes. “The problem is mainly with the concept of the car,” says Rosberg at Sky Sports.
There is a major restructuring going on at Mercedes. For example, Elliott relinquished his role of technical director and returned it to James Allison. In 2021, Elliott was promoted to head of engineering at Mercedes, later facing criticism for being the captain on the car’s biggest tweaks. Since the start of the season in 2022, Mercedes has only won once.
Mercedes is in the process of reorganization
With Allison reinstated as technical director, some people see that as a sign that Elliott has failed as technical director. Rosberg disagrees. “He is not responsible for the crisis in Brackley,” says the former driver, quoted by the German branch of Motorsport.com. Rosberg worked closely with Elliott for a while. “He is extremely skilled and knows what he is doing. He was the one who turned aerodynamics inside out when I was at Mercedes, making Mercedes the best in Formula 1,” recalled the single world champion.
In addition to the change in the technical department, some more has changed within the Mercedes organization. For example, Hywel Thomas replaced Andy Cowell as head of the engine department in 2020 and James Vowles, Mercedes chief strategist, most recently left the team to become team principal at Williams. However, according to Rosberg, this has nothing to do with Mercedes’ problems, but is all due to the car itself.
Rosberg: “The problem is mainly with the car, you can’t solve that quickly”
“Many people talk about a brain drain within Mercedes, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it,” says the German. ‘I see every change within the organization as a good choice, with competent successors.’ However, Mercedes fans should not expect too much from the reorganization, says Rosberg. “You can’t change the problem of the car overnight,” says the former driver. ‘You can’t just change a part and then the car will work again. You have to start at the beginning and evaluate the whole car, which is a daunting task.’ James Allison will now have to crack this nut together with the rest of the Mercedes engineering team.
