Enrico Cardile set to leave Ferrari and join Aston Martin
06/24/2024 05:31 AM
Scuderia Ferrari is striving to turn the 2024 Formula 1 championship into a more successful year after securing two wins (in the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit and on the streets of Monte Carlo in Monaco) in ten races so far. The second major upgrade package for the SF-24 debuted earlier than planned and were introduced last weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, despite the fact that the new aero package was initially set for the Silverstone Grand Prix, though the tenth race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix, yielded disappointing results for the Maranello team.
Yet, another significant development is about to make waves: Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile, Ferrari’s technical director, has accepted an offer from Aston Martin after a series of persuasive calls convinced him to join Lawrence Stroll’s team.
Enrico Cardile: A Long Career at Ferrari, Now Battling for Top Positions
Tuscan engineer Enrico Cardile began his journey with Ferrari during his Aerospace Engineering thesis in 2002, eventually joining the company in 2005. His career at Ferrari took off in Gran Turismo, where he designed cars like the 458 Italia GT2 and GT3 and the 488 GTE and GT3. In 2016, he moved to the Racing Department, known as SF, as Head of Aero Development and became Vehicle Project Manager the following year.
Enrico Cardile became part of the team working to revive Ferrari during the challenging early years of the Power Unit era. His efforts, marked by both successes and setbacks, have led to victories for Maranello and put Ferrari in the fight for more, despite strong competition from Red Bull and McLaren. Over time, Cardile gained increasing authority and respect within the former GES. When Mattia Binotto became Team Principal, Cardile not only oversaw the chassis department but also became the de facto technical director, officially assuming the role of Chassis and Aerodynamics Technical Director with the arrival of Frédéric Vasseur last year.
Loic Serra to Take on Expanded Role for 2025 and 2026 F1 Single-Seaters
Since joining the Maranello team last year, Frédéric Vasseur has worked to bolster Ferrari’s technical department, recruiting senior engineers from other teams and placing trust in existing staff, known internally as the ‘7 Bello’. Notable attempts to lure Pierre Waché from Red Bull led only to his contract renewals. However, Frederic Vasseur’s most significant success, announced exclusively by us nearly a year ago, was hiring Loic Serra from Mercedes. According to information reported by the Italian website Formu1a.uno, Loic Serra will assume most of Enrico Cardile’s responsibilities starting in October, focusing on both the 2025 car and the major regulatory changes for the 2026 car.
Serra will begin at Maranello on October 1st as Head of Chassis Performance Engineering, although his roles, which include coordinating various departments such as Track Engineering, Aero Development, Aero Operations, and Vehicle Performance, have raised some eyebrows. Diego Tondi will continue as head of aerodynamics, working on further developments for this season’s SF-24 to address some inherent issues with the 2024 project. Cardile’s departure is unrelated to rumors about Ferrari’s interest in Adrian Newey. Despite ongoing negotiations, Newey has also spoken with Williams, making a deal with Ferrari unlikely. Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s pursuit of Cardile, as previously reported, has proven successful.
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