MIKE ELLIOTT JOINS ALPINE AS NEW CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER
Alpine have announced the signing of Mike Elliott as their new Chief Technical Officer. The former Mercedes technical chief returns to Formula 1 after leaving Mercedes in 2023 and will take responsibility for the team’s technical and engineering functions at its Enstone factory.
Elliott returns to Enstone after previously working for the team between 2008 and 2012. He joined Renault as Principal Aerodynamist after starting his Formula 1 career with McLaren in 2000, and later became part of the Mercedes organisation.
During his time at Mercedes, Elliott held several important technical positions. He became Head of Aerodynamics before being promoted to Technology Director in 2017 and then Technical Director in 2021. In 2023, he became Chief Technical Officer after exchanging roles with James Allison, before leaving the team later that year.
Alpine highlighted Elliott’s experience in Formula 1, with the team stating that he has worked in the sport for 23 years and contributed to eight Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ Championships during his career.
His arrival creates a new senior technical role at Alpine rather than simply replacing Executive Technical Director David Sanchez. Elliott will oversee the wider technical structure, while Sanchez remains part of the team’s technical leadership.
The appointment comes as Alpine continues to develop its team under the new 2026 technical regulations. The French team switched to Mercedes power units for the 2026 season after Renault ended its works Formula 1 engine programme. Alpine’s current project therefore combines a Mercedes power unit with a chassis developed at Enstone.
Alpine are also trying to reduce the gap to the leading teams. The team has improved its performance during the 2026 season and is currently fighting in the midfield, with the technical structure becoming an important part of its plans for the coming years.
Elliott’s experience also includes the start of Mercedes’ ground-effect era. As Technical Director, he was involved in the development of the team’s 2022 car, which introduced the controversial zero-sidepod concept. Mercedes later moved away from that concept as it struggled to match the performance of its rivals under the regulations introduced that year.
For Elliott, the move represents a return to the Enstone organisation where his Formula 1 career already included an important period. He will now work on Alpine’s technical direction as the team prepares for the next stages of its Formula 1 project.
Alpine confirmed that Elliott will begin his new role around the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend in Baku. His appointment gives the team another experienced figure at the top of its technical structure as it continues its attempt to move closer to the leading teams.
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