The current situation at Ferrari is certainly not the rosiest. Not only is the team’s on-track performance suffering, but there is plenty of talk away from the track. Only a few days ago, it was confirmed that Technical Director Enrico Cardile is departing for Aston Martin. His exit comes at a crucial time, not only for 2024 development but also for the 2025 season.
Teams are in that important phase of macro choices concerning mechanical and chassis design. These can be crucial for the outcome of a season. However, this is not worrying those in Maranello who are still working for Ferrari.
FERRARI: VASSEUR’S MANAGEMENT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE PREVIOUS ONE
The French Team Principal has repeatedly reiterated his confidence in the current working group – in words and deeds. When he first arrived, Vasseur chose against implementing any major changes regarding the technical personnel at Maranello.
However, the situation has changed a lot compared to the previous management, when Mattia Binotto was at the top. Binotto often wanted to focus on people who grew up in Maranello, as well as young figures taken elsewhere and grown within the Scuderia’s setup. He was typically inclined to retain staff as much as possible.
Vasseur’s vision is rather different from this perspective, more open to acquiring the best talents – even at the expense of Maranello personnel. It is no coincidence there has been more turnover at Ferrari, with more technicians leaving and entering through Maranello’s doors.
It should not be surprising, therefore, that there have been several farewells. Cardile joins Mekies and Sanchez as some of the key figures to leave Ferrari. There have been other key departures, including Fabrice Moncade, who moved to Williams, and Jacopo Fantoni, who joined Alpine after almost 13 years at Ferrari.
Unlike the previous management, Vasseur pushes and believes it is necessary to bring more external know-how to Ferrari. Hence the arrival of many technicians from other teams, mostly French, to Ferrari. This includes one of the latest acquisitions, Senior Engineer Cedric Sambardier, who arrived from Red Bull.
Several key personnel have left Milton Keynes to join Maranello. Not all of these hirings have been of ‘top-level’ engineers, helping retain Ferrari’s existing core group.
CARDILE’S FAREWELL: VASSEUR DID LITTLE TO RETAIN HIM
It is clear that Vasseur did not consider Cardile a fundamental element of his vision for Ferrari. This was irrespective of the negative package introduced in Spain, given that Aston Martin’s offer arrived well before the SF-24 took to the track in Barcelona.
From what has leaked out, Vasseur does not seem to have put much effort into keeping his former technical director in Maranello. Combining this with the significant financial offer made by Lawrence Stroll, it is no surprise that Cardile accepted Aston’s offer. The Silverstone-based team has also guaranteed him a promotion, given that he will be the CTO – Chief Technical Officer. This role is on par with James Allison’s at Mercedes or what Adrian Newey had at Red Bull, to give some important examples.
The Technical Director’s exit does not seem to have affected Vasseur’s future plans that much. Only the timing of this departure is what might frustrate the French team principal. As already said in formu1a.uno’s live stream, in recent weeks, Cardile’s still managed and supervised various departments. However, his input in the Scuderia’s 2025 car was greatly diminished.
One of the objectives of Ferrari’s 2024 project was to ensure a large margin of development for 2025. The reason behind this was to have a substantial carry-over between this year and the next. However, some plans are changing, especially based on the results at the beginning of the season and the limits that can emerge with in-depth knowledge of the projects. At Ferrari, it was, in fact, decided, not by Cardile but by those who were and are still there, to revolutionise what is the basis of the current SF-24, redesigning the chassis and significantly modifying the suspension system, for now, especially at the front while at the rear a definitive decision does not seem to have been taken 100% yet, with the final reflections still underway.
