Mercedes enjoys one of the largest fan bases in F1. And why shouldn’t they? They basically ruled the sport for the better part of the last decade, But the season 2022 is been on and off for the Silver Arrows. Recently in Beyond the Grid Podcast, Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott opened up about the single ‘mistake’ that compromised their 2022 car, the W13.

After winning seven successive drivers’ and constructors’ championships, Mercedes floundered in its approach to F1’s aerodynamic regulation. The W13 has been highly inconsistent, tussling with the porpoising issue. Some of the flaws are being looked around, but some still are a major headache for the technical director.

Talking to Tom Clarkson, Elliott revealed that “one mistake” the team made. He said, “You look at how we developed the car, and I can point to one moment in time last year where we did something where I think we made a mistake.”

He further added, “What you’re seeing in terms of performance and the way it swings from race to race as a consequence of that, and that’s a mistake we’ve known about for a while, But it’s not something we can fully correct for a little while yet, and we will do over the winter.”

Not going deep into the technicalities, Mike explained the loopholes in the regulations that lead the team to the “zero sidepod” concept. He said, “With a loophole, you go through the winter and you look at and think ‘has anybody else spotted it, is someone else going to turn up with it?

“While it looks visually very different, as always with these things, it’s about opening up small aerodynamic advantages,” Elliott concluded.

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The decision is now hurting the team as much as it is hurting the drivers. Despite all of that, Mike looks forward to Mercedes getting back on the winning streak.

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott Explains his leadership style

Mike Elliott joined the Mercedes team a decade ago as their head of aerodynamics and said he grew up with people within the team he is now managing. He also revealed how he doesn’t show a dictatorial style of management and tries to get the best of the team.

As per, Motorsport-Total, He said, “I’ve moved up from technology director, where I oversaw a number of departments, to engineering director, where I’m responsible for all technical development and the race team.”

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He further added, “I think my leadership style is to get the best out of the people I work with, not to be some kind of dictator at the top.”

Elliott stresses much about how things have not changed since his promotion. He said, “My job is to make sure I have the right people in the right places and give them all the tools they need to do their jobs”

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Elliott surely knows how to lead a team. It seems he, and his team, is hard at work to make the Silver Arrows champion contenders again.