Mike Elliott appointed Alpine chief technical officer
Former Mercedes design boss Mike Elliott has joined Alpine as chief technical officer, the team said in a statement published on 17 September 2026; he will be based at Alpine's Enstone factory in Oxfordshire. The 52-year-old is due to take up his new position next week, the statement added.
Elliott returns to the Enstone operation where he was principal aerodynamicist from 2008-12 when the outfit was Renault and then Lotus, and he spent more than a decade at Mercedes afterward, rising from head of aerodynamics to technical director and then chief technical officer. The signing is described by Alpine as part of its attempt to return to competitiveness after slumping to the back of the field in 2025. "The 52-year-old will "lead and oversee the technical and engineering functions at the team's factory in Enstone", a statement said.
Alpine's announcement highlighted Elliott's championship record, saying: "Elliott has a proven track record in the sport, having contributed to an impressive eight constructors' and eight drivers' championships. "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." Elliott will sit above executive technical director David Sanchez in the engineering structure; Sanchez joined the team in May 2024. The club's statement included no remarks from executive adviser Flavio Briatore or managing director Steve Nielsen.
Elliott's appointment is his first role in Formula 1 since leaving Mercedes in October 2023. His F1 career began at McLaren in 2000 and continued through his lengthy spell at Mercedes, which coincided with the manufacturer's dominant period alongside Lewis Hamilton.
The statement and reporting recalled the controversy around Mercedes' design direction during the ground-effect era from 2022-25, when the team pursued a 'zero-pod' concept that pared back the sidepods. In wind-tunnel testing that approach produced significant downforce but proved vulnerable to a phenomenon known as 'porpoising', a high-frequency bouncing motion caused when airflow stalls under the floor.
Mercedes struggled more than many rivals to resolve those issues, and while Red Bull dominated 2022 with a different concept using heavily undercut side pods to channel airflow to 'seal' the floor, Mercedes maintained the zero-pod philosophy into 2023 despite what the report described as pleas from Lewis Hamilton. After the 2023 car underperformed, Elliott swapped roles with James Allison; Mercedes presented the change as Elliott's idea, and he left the company within six months, with Mercedes again saying it was his decision.
Elliott will start work at Alpine's Enstone factory next week, and Flavio Briatore and Steve Nielsen will address his hiring publicly at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 24-26 September.