Toto Wolff has maintained that the team’s decision to drop technical director Mike Elliott’s zero-pod concept has nothing to do with Elliott’s exit from Mercedes.
Wolff emphasized that there is no direct connection between Elliott’s departure and the team’s move from the zero-pod concept to a more traditional sidepod design, even though it happened shortly after.
After 11 years in a prominent role with the team, Elliott left in a statement expressing his desire to take on new challenges.
Wolff: Elliott will be missed
However, Wolff refused to comment on such conjecture in Brazil, praising ‘one of the most clever’ individuals he had collaborated with.
“When it came to his performance, Mike was my best employee for a very long time,” Wolff said to Sky Sports F1. “One of the sharpest minds in the business will be missed.
It was simply a difficult burden for him throughout all those years, and I think it’s amazing that someone can realize, ‘You know what? I can’t keep holding onto this any longer; I have to do something else.
“Formula 1 anyway is an incestuous environment. If someone is strong and says ‘I’m done with it’ for the time being that’s good.”
No correlation between car issues and Elliott exit
Wolff emphasized that a car’s failure is not the result of a single person when asked if Elliott’s position with the team had suffered as a result of the vehicle’s poor performance in Bahrain.
“A single person never makes the decision. I believe that we are all working together to create the fastest race car possible, and since we were so far along in developing the concept, we mistakenly believed that we had solved the problem.
“To be more competitive like we see now, that’s why we changed it and covered the car in plaster. However, there is no correlation with that.
“It’s no single person’s fault if a car doesn’t perform. It’s also not one single person that makes the car faster. I think we have such a strength in the organisation that you can take one out and everybody else is going to cover that.
“I don’t think that’s going to change anything next year.”
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