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Mike Elliott: the 2022 ‘mistake’ making Mercedes stronger

Mike Elliott: the 2022 ‘mistake’ making Mercedes stronger

F1 Beyond The Grid vor 3 Jahren

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54:57

As soon as the 2022 Mercedes F1 car hit the racetrack, the man
who oversaw its creation realised it had problems. ‘We made a
mistake’, admits Technical Director Mike Elliot. In finding
fixes, Mike and his team of engineers have improved Mercedes’
results and learned a lot about themselves. Mike tells Tom
Clarkson how they traced the car’s problems to a single design
decision, how a year of not winning has helped the people
at Mercedes develop, and how he craves a return to the
team’s championship-winning form. Looking back, Mike remembers
why he chose a career in F1, and the remarkable day two top teams
offered him a role. That led him to work in aerodynamics for
McLaren, and he recalls a surprising early conversation he had
with the team’s young test driver, Lewis Hamilton. McLaren’s
former leader Ron Dennis, legendary car designer Adrian Newey,
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and drivers Michael Schumacher, Nico
Rosberg and George Russell also feature in Mike’s story. He
explains how F1 engineering has become ‘more specialised’ and has
advice for anyone who aspires to work in F1 car design.

More BTG interviews with F1 Technical Directors:

AlphaTauri’s Jody Egginton

McLaren’s James Key

Alpine’s Pat Fry

James Allison, former Mercedes TD

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