The BWT Alpine F1 Team has signed former Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 chief technical officer Mike Elliott, who joins in the same position and will oversee its technical and engineering functions.
Elliott brings extensive experience, having worked in Formula 1 for 23 years across numerous teams, first starting out as an aerodynamicist for McLaren in 2000.
He became team leader for aerodynamic performance in 2006 before Renault recruited him in 2008. He stayed with the Enstone outfit until 2012, when he joined Mercedes.
From there, the British engineer became head of aerodynamics and later progressed to technology director from 2017 to 2021, then technical director from 2021 to 2023, overseeing the designs of the W13 and W14.
In 2023, he swapped roles with James Allison to become chief technology officer, and was tasked with “renewing the team’s technical capability for the years ahead” after Mercedes was beaten by Oracle Red Bull Racing for several years.
The team announced his exit six months later, after he was linked to some of the design struggles of its 2023 and 2023 cars, having championed the ‘zero-pod’ aerodynamic design for the W13 when the new ground-effect regulations were introduced.
The minimal sidepod layout suffered from severe porpoising (bouncing at high speed) and meant that the car could not be run at an optimal low ride height to take advantage of the ground effect.
Elliott later admitted the team made a fundamental early design mistake with its 2022 car on the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, but Lewis Hamilton also felt it was a collective team failure rather than his fault alone.
Team principal Toto Wolff also praised Elliott’s contribution to Mercedes prior to his exit, citing his role in helping them achieve eight Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ Championships in a row.
Alpine said in a statement: “Elliott’s arrival at Enstone strengthens the team’s technical capabilities as the team looks to build on the improved performances on track and close the gap to the top four teams.”
Alpine is currently 6th in the Constructors’ Championship and recently celebrated an unexpected pole for Pierre Gasly at the 2026 Pirelli Italian Grand Prix, which appeared to vindicate its upgrade package that was introduced in previous races.
