He certainly had his strengths. But in this rule regime we have 2 seasons of Mercedes being unable to consistently challenge for wins.Vaexa wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:06Not altogether surprising that Elliott is leaving after falling on the zeropods sword, but it's still a massive blow to Mercedes' technical strength and depth. He's been in F1 longer than some drivers are old, all in aero-related roles, and has been with Mercedes since 2012 - essentially since right before they became a top team. Even if he didn't work out as TD, this is a big loss for the team.
On the contrary, the last thing this team needed is more brain drain.ValeVida46 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:12He certainly had his strengths. But in this rule regime we have 2 seasons of Mercedes being unable to consistently challenge for wins.Vaexa wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:06Not altogether surprising that Elliott is leaving after falling on the zeropods sword, but it's still a massive blow to Mercedes' technical strength and depth. He's been in F1 longer than some drivers are old, all in aero-related roles, and has been with Mercedes since 2012 - essentially since right before they became a top team. Even if he didn't work out as TD, this is a big loss for the team.
He had 2 bites of the cherry, and only since Allison took over the reigns did we start to see a more consistent performance from the team. This was stepping away from Eliott's zero pod vision.
It's entirely possible he could not get to grips with the ground effect formula, and him vacating his seat leaves room for someone with a better grasp of that.
Elliott was out of his depth in this current ruleset. His zeropod concept has been an utter failure. If anything, his departure gives Mercedes the chance to hire a heavy hitter from a rival team.Vaexa wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:19On the contrary, the last thing this team needed is more brain drain.ValeVida46 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:12He certainly had his strengths. But in this rule regime we have 2 seasons of Mercedes being unable to consistently challenge for wins.Vaexa wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 19:06Not altogether surprising that Elliott is leaving after falling on the zeropods sword, but it's still a massive blow to Mercedes' technical strength and depth. He's been in F1 longer than some drivers are old, all in aero-related roles, and has been with Mercedes since 2012 - essentially since right before they became a top team. Even if he didn't work out as TD, this is a big loss for the team.
He had 2 bites of the cherry, and only since Allison took over the reigns did we start to see a more consistent performance from the team. This was stepping away from Eliott's zero pod vision.
It's entirely possible he could not get to grips with the ground effect formula, and him vacating his seat leaves room for someone with a better grasp of that.
I remember at the first test of the ‘22 zero-sidepod car, Ted Kravitz was positively orgasmic over the car and in a gushing interview with Elliot was goading him on, prompting him to declare the superiority of his magnificent creation but Elliot very sheepishly refrained—maybe they had seen some troubling data already—and seemed very unsure of his concept, so I don’t think pride would have been a factor.214270 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 20:06As I understand it zeropod was at the crossover between Allison leaving and Elliot taking over, so responsibility is shared somewhat?
Elliot’s problem was being headstrong and not yielding when the concept showed limited promise. Pride I suspect played a part in his reluctance to abandon early.
I think you are mistaking Ted's fever dreams for Mike Elliott not believing in his concept. It would be unprofessional to claim it's a winner before ever racing. It's a reflection on Ted, not ME.ing. wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 20:43I remember at the first test of the ‘22 zero-sidepod car, Ted Kravitz was positively orgasmic over the car and in a gushing interview with Elliot was goading him on, prompting him to declare the superiority of his magnificent creation but Elliot very sheepishly refrained—maybe they had seen some troubling data already—and seemed very unsure of his concept, so I don’t think pride would have been a factor.214270 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 20:06As I understand it zeropod was at the crossover between Allison leaving and Elliot taking over, so responsibility is shared somewhat?
Elliot’s problem was being headstrong and not yielding when the concept showed limited promise. Pride I suspect played a part in his reluctance to abandon early.
Probably more related to taking a huge risk on a new, not-well-understood concept versus trying to finesse the original concept to something more useable so as to achieve the predicted analytical performance they succumbed to originally.
I assume Allison will just take on a dual role position.
I wouldn't consider Newey or Waché to be cut out for the limelight either, they are not on camera personalities and no one in the team is asking them to be. Interviews are far and few between. In fact, if your technical heads are being asked to be on camera personalities instead of focusing on their job there's probably a priority issue in the team, coming from the very top. The TP should stand and take the questions and the heat, but protect your technical people and let them get on with the job undisturbed.dans79 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 21:09Personally I think a lot of it has to do with him not really being cut out for the limelight. In the modern era, if you have a position at the top of the food chain , you are expected to been in front of the camera answering questions .
Imo, Mike always looked uncomfortable dealing with the media, even when they were asking him tee-ball level questions.
I doubt that. If Adrian Newey refused to appear for the media, do you think Merc would turn home down?dans79 wrote: ↑31 Oct 2023, 21:09Personally I think a lot of it has to do with him not really being cut out for the limelight. In the modern era, if you have a position at the top of the food chain , you are expected to been in front of the camera answering questions .
Imo, Mike always looked uncomfortable dealing with the media, even when they were asking him tee-ball level questions.