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Mike Elliott says becoming Mercedes’ technical director was “a strange transition to make” because “suddenly now you’re the boss” of your colleagues.
In 2021 a big change occurred at Mercedes, the team’s technical director James Allison became the Chief Technical Officer, while technology director Mike Elliott got promoted to Allison’s former position.
In an interview with Autosport, Elliott says it was a strange transition to make.
“I went from being a technology director, where I oversaw a number of departments, to being technical director where I oversee all the technical development and the race team,” the Briton said.
“I think I’m very lucky that I have a really good team around me and they’re all very experienced.
“I moved from being a peer to that team, to being the technical director, and that’s a strange transition to make because these are people I’ve grown through the company with, and suddenly now you’re the boss.
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“But I think my style of leadership is one where it’s to try and get the best out of those people I’m working with, and it’s not to be the sort of dictator that stands at the front.
“I think sometimes there is this sort of image outside of the teams that the technical director is the person that’s involved in every single decision, and it’s them that controls everything.
“The reality of that is I don’t think it is very true in many teams. And it’s certainly not true in this team.
“My job is to try and make sure I’ve got the right people in the right places, and I give them all the tools they need to be able to do their jobs.
“So in that sense, it’s not very different to what I was doing before, it’s just a bigger slice of the pie,” Elliott concluded.
