A deafening silence on the Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile matter. On July 8 of last year, Ferrari, through a terse and cryptic statement, announced that its technical director had resigned. This came after more than twenty years of honorable service with the Maranello group. To correctly describe the events, it is necessary to contextualize the period, as this announcement had also surprised Formula 1 insiders. Before joining Aston Martin, the engineer from Arezzo had been appointed Ferrari’s technical director directly by Frederic Vasseur, after inheriting the role from former team principal Mattia Binotto.
A promotion that appeared to be an unequivocal sign of esteem, certainly not an interim position. As a direct consequence of the chaos at Red Bull, due to the internal investigation that placed Christian Horner in the defendant’s seat, and for other technical reasons, Adrian Newey, at the start of last season, decided to leave the Milton Keynes team. From that moment, rumors intensified about the supposed arrival of the legendary car designer at the Italian team. This was part of a long-standing courtship, during which Adrian Newey had been very close to joining the historic Maranello-based team.
Enrico Cardile’s departure seemed to reinforce the possibility of the British designer joining Ferrari, given that the Italian manager had already been announced by Aston Martin as a new reinforcement, and Ferrari appeared willing to go to great lengths to secure the undisputed aerodynamics genius. When it was officially confirmed that Adrian Newey was also heading to the British team, it became clear that Enrico Cardile’s resignation was not due to a potential demotion following Adrian Newey’s arrival at the Prancing Horse.
A few days ago, the mastermind of car design officially began his adventure with Aston Martin, where he will primarily focus on the 2026 Formula 1 project, though he will also lend a hand—something that appears to be much needed—in improving the performance of the AMR25 single-seater for the upcoming championship. This F1 car did not perform as expected during the pre-season testing session at the Bahrain circuit last week. Meanwhile, a sort of oblivion had surrounded the former technical director of the team based in Maranello for several months. A silence that could not last forever and had already been raising significant suspicions for some time.
In recent days, it has emerged that Ferrari has blocked the Italian aerodynamicist’s move, relying on its legal team. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Modena ruled in favor of the Italian side, ordering Enrico Cardile to cease any form of collaboration with Aston Martin until July 18. The ruling states: “The former employee was already violating the non-compete commitment undertaken in favor of Ferrari, whose purpose was to prevent other teams from hiring Enrico Cardile earlier than allowed and gaining an unjustified competitive advantage, causing irreparable damage to the Italian team.”
Essentially, according to the Modena Prosecutor’s Office, Enrico Cardile allegedly violated what is commonly known as the gardening leave period. The case raises several questions. Gardening leave can last up to 12 months depending on the position held by the employee. Is it possible that a team of Aston Martin’s caliber was unaware of the “leave” period of one of its future top figures? This is a team that, in the past, won a legal battle against Red Bull regarding the hiring of Dan Fallows. And the court’s ruling is, quite clearly, of enormous significance.
The former Ferrari technical director would have worked for a competitor when, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, he was not allowed to do so, thus breaching the non-compete commitment made to Ferrari. Moreover, how was the alleged violation by the Italian engineer verified? The gardening leave period is a controversial measure designed to prevent the immediate transfer of knowledge from one person to another team. However, it is hard to believe that a highly regarded professional like the former Italian technical director would have disregarded his commitments to his former team, openly working for his new employer.
All of this in blatant disregard of precise deadlines set when he ended his employment with the Maranello team. Based on the information available to us, the legal dispute between Ferrari and its former technical director has been ongoing for a long time. And the real reasons may concern a possible and hypothetical exchange of information, rather than what has surfaced in recent weeks. Legal action is rarely taken merely for failing to comply with a leave period. Moreover, Lawrence Stroll’s alleged resentment would seem misplaced, given that the gardening leave period should have been known as early as last July.
As a result of the court’s decision, Enrico Cardile will only be able to start his role at Aston Martin from next July, irreparably compromising his contribution to the next technical project. In this context, the official welcome given to the Italian engineer as a key figure in the development of the revolutionary 2026 Formula 1 cars for next season appears to be, at the very least, incorrect. At this level, misunderstandings about the timing of gardening leave seem truly absurd and highly implausible. We await further developments in this case.
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