Ferrari look set to miss out on Adrian Newey, but they are working on another impressive signing in the background.
Lewis Hamilton will be delighted if Ferrari complete the signing of Mike Elliott (Image: Getty)
Lewis Hamilton could be joined at Maranello by former Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott with Ferrari reportedly in talks over a move for the Brit, who left the Silver Arrows in October 2023.
Ferrari suffered a key loss earlier this summer when head of aerodynamics Enrico Cardile accepted an offer from Aston Martin, departing the team with immediate effect. However, according to a report from Motorsport Italy, they may have found their replacement with Elliott allegedly in talks over a move to Maranello.
This will come as good news to Hamilton, who worked closely with Elliott during his 11-year stay at Brackley. During this time, the Silver Arrows won eight Constructors’ Championship titles and the British racer won six of his seven Drivers’ Championship crowns.
While Elliott’s impact during his time at Mercedes was undoubtedly a positive one, the 50-year-old’s time at Brackley ended in disappointing circumstances. After succeeding the popular James Allison as technical director in 2021, he made a series of controversial development choices.
Chief among these was the continued pursuit of the ‘zero-pod’ design concept that set Mercedes on the back foot at the start of the ground-effect era in 2022. It is only over the past handful of races that the Brackley-based team have finally bridged the gap to rivals Red Bull and McLaren.
Elliott departed Mercedes late last year, just months after being moved into the chief technical officer position, but there was no ill feeling from Hamilton and team-mate George Russell towards the Cornwall-born aerodynamicist.
Discussing his friendship with Elliott, Hamilton explained: “I’m definitely sad to see Mike go. I have known him since my McLaren days, before I raced for McLaren he was there. I have had a great relationship with Mike.
I’ve loved working with him, within this team. He’s such an intelligent individual. He was someone I would always speak to on aerodynamics. He was amazing at explaining everything to me, so I learned a lot from him.
“But it’s his decision to move on and do something different. I wish him absolutely all the best and I’m super grateful for all his contributions over these years. I know whatever he’s going to do next, he’s going to be great because he’s a super brain.”