Shock exit for Mercedes F1’s chief technical officer

Elliott was Mercedes' technical director for two years until earlier this season, when he swapped jobs with James Allison.

But he is now exiting the team altogether. Mercedes wrote on social media that he "has chosen to depart".

It is a major reshuffle in the technical department at Mercedes, who are reacting to back-to-back below-par F1 seasons in an attempt to give Lewis Hamilton and George Russell a competitive car in 2024.

Elliott's exit is a significant move in Mercedes possibly changing direction and ideas with their W15 car for next year.

He first arrived at Mercedes in 2012, heading up the aerodynamics department before becoming technology director.

He became technical director in 2021 - replacing Allison - and was a key contributor to creating Mercedes' first car for the ground-effect regulations that started in 2022.

But the W14 last season, in particular, was a troublesome car leading to another job swap with Allison, who had held a crucial role in building the previous generation of F1 cars.

In recent months, Mercedes have abandoned the 'zeropod' philosophy and moved towards the same concept which Red Bull have used to great success.

Mercedes hope that, in 2024, they can again challenge for the drivers' and constructors' titles.