After nearly two decades at Ferrari, Enrico Cardile is officially turning the page and joining Aston Martin. The engineer behind the SF-25 — the car that defined Ferrari’s 2025 season — is now fully operational in Silverstone, working on Aston Martin’s project ahead of Formula 1’s new technical era.
Free at last, after Michelin legal battles
Following a legal case involving Ferrari earlier this year, Enrico Cardile is now unbound by contractual restrictions. His gardening leave officially ran until the end of July. Just weeks ago, he began working with Lawrence Stroll’s team, collaborating closely with key figures like Adrian Newey and Andy Cowell in developing Aston Martin’s future car.
Cardile’s future at Aston Martin under Ferrari’s shadow
The news of Enrico Cardile’s move from Maranello to Silverstone rocked the paddock back in July 2024, when he unexpectedly left Ferrari after a long run of technical challenges and victories. His goal has always been clear: to help transform Aston Martin into a winning team as fast as possible.
But part of that path has been rocky. Ferrari initiated and won a legal case that forced Enrico Cardile to remain sidelined for several months before officially starting his new role. Now, with everything cleared and the project underway, he says he has a clear vision.
“Different cultures, same aim”
In a recent interview in the UK, Cardile pointed out key differences between Ferrari and Aston Martin, particularly in operations and organisation: “I believe there is a difference in culture. The goals are the same: everyone wants to win. But Ferrari has a long, stable history, with well-established processes and tools. Here, we are still developing those things.”
“We have the new CoreWeave wind tunnel, the new simulator, and we need to work to tap into their full potential. We also must build internal processes suited to how we want to work, creating a lean organisation that avoids waste.”
Cardile and Newey: building Aston Martin’s identity, not copying others
Cardile made the underlying philosophy of his work at Aston Martin very clear: forge a unique identity rather than mimic the methods of the top teams. “One of the first messages I gave my team when I began: we must find our own identity, and use our vision to shape the organisation so it works the way we want,” he said.
“It’s fine to get inspiration from others, but copying what someone else has done is not the right move. We must build something based on our strengths, and allow us to work on our weaknesses. We want to be a point of reference, not a clone of one. You can’t simply copy what someone else does—even if it works—because that means you’re a follower, not a leader. That’s not the road to success.”
Long-term plans: structure, clarity and winning
Finally, Cardile discussed his work alongside Aston Martin’s technical and managerial leadership, laying out a long-term plan to build a strong, victory-oriented structure. “It is work in progress, step by step. I have a clear vision and a clear plan, agreed with Andy Cowell, Adrian Newey and Lawrence [Stroll], about what we must do to improve the organisation,” he concluded.
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