The future technical group at Ferrari is starting to take shape. While Frederic Vasseur confirmed a few days ago the arrival of a top engineer in Maranello, without revealing the name, important news has emerged from the Spielberg paddock. It seems that the chosen figure by Ferrari Team Principal is Pierre Waché.
Currently working at Red Bull and Adrian Newey’s right-hand man since 2013, the Frenchman has designed the RB18, the championship-winning car in 2022, and would be a top-level reinforcement for Scuderia Ferrari. It is not a coincidence that the cameras in Spielberg caught Frederic Vasseur in conversation with Christian Horner inside the Liberty Media hospitality. Furthermore, the presence of Ferrari President John Elkann at the Red Bull Ring could be another hint in this regard.
According to Automoto, Pierre Waché will be followed by five technicians from Milton Keynes in joining Ferrari. However, it is unlikely that they will be involved in the design of the 2024 Formula 1 car, as Red Bull imposes a gardening period of about a year on departing engineers.
Laurent Mekies – Ferrari: Silverstone marks the end in red
But the news doesn’t end there. It appears that the next stop on the Formula 1 calendar, Silverstone, will coincide with Laurent Mekies‘ final appearance on the Ferrari pit wall. The Frenchman, who is heading to AlphaTauri, will begin his gardening period immediately after the British race.
If confirmed, Fred Vasseur’s decision is a bold one that provides two interpretations. The first concerns the current group working in Maranello. It cannot be easy for Enrico Cardile, Enrico Gualtieri, or the head of the wind tunnel, Diego Tondi, to learn about the arrival of a new management group. This does not necessarily mean that the engineers currently working on the 2024 F1 car will have to leave Maranello, but a revision of roles will likely be necessary.
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At the same time, involving only Pierre Waché without bringing in his current working group from Red Bull would have risked having a detrimental effect. The risk is that the Frenchman, as the only technician not coming from the Ferrari pipeline, would be isolated. For Ferrari, which aims to rise and reorganize, a complete package of engineers who already know how to win is the right choice.
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