The team said Allison’s return to lead car design came at Elliott’s instigation. Hamilton, who won six world drivers’ championships for Mercedes between 2014 and 2020, said after the race in Bahrain that Mercedes engineers had not followed his wishes in the design of the 2022 car. Mercedes’ decline coincided with Allison’s move away from direct, day-to-day, hands-on leadership of the design team responsible for the F1 car. Equally, Elliott, who was head of aerodynamics before becoming technology director, was integral to the design of all Mercedes’ successful cars. He is said to be excited to be focusing on the F1 car project again.

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