Helmut Marko wonders if Toto Wolff still has confidence in his team. This is in response to rumors that Mercedes, of which Wolff is the team leader, had reached out to Adrian Newey to entice the top designer to switch to Brackley.
It didn't come to that, as Newey has almost certainly extended his contract with Red Bull. However, it does raise questions for Marko about the thought process of his fellow countryman Wolff. "Maybe Mr. Wolff no longer has confidence that his own people can get the problems with their car under control," the motorsport boss told SPORT1.
As it happens, Mike Elliott and James Allison have switched roles at Mercedes. Elliott is now the Chief Technical Officer and Allison is the Technical Director. He had previously held that role, but in 2021, Allison decided to take a different path within Mercedes. However, last month Elliott concluded that the role of Technical Director didn't suit him, hence the internal position switch.
Speaking of position switches: Ferrari was recently denied by Red Bull regarding a swap deal involving Laurent Mekies and two senior team members of the Austrians. The names of Technical Director Pierre Waché and Head of Aerodynamics Enrico Balbo were mentioned, but neither will be leaving for Maranello. "We all want Ferrari to be competitive, but that's not how it works," Marko said. "We're not in an Arabian bazaar. Apart from the fact that Waché doesn't want to move at all, we won't agree to the terms."