This is no longer the chaotic concert hall of Federico Fellini’s masterpiece “Orchestra Rehearsal,” but rather the wrecking ball smashing the wall to pieces. Ferrari’s crisis, with developments that don’t work, a futile search for a way out, a regressing driver (Charles Leclerc) making mistakes in races and then venting his anger (“we threw the race in the toilet”), and the more clear-headed Carlos Sainz, who will be shown the door at the end of the year, all culminates in the sudden departure of Enrico Cardile, the technical director. His move to Aston Martin had been rumored but was decisively denied by those close to him. The final decision, complete with signature, was made last week, catching Ferrari off guard, especially since they had renewed his contract for another two years just a few months ago.
Ferrari, no deputy
Enrico Cardile did not have a deputy, and today Ferrari finds itself at an impasse. His role has been taken on an interim basis by Frederic Vasseur, while they await new appointments. On October 1, Loic Serra from Mercedes will join (without whom, it must be noted, Mercedes has started to soar again), but he is not a technical director and would need to perform not just a somersault but the Cassina 2 movement to fill that role. At Mercedes, he was in charge of performance development, and at Ferrari, he will also be responsible for aerodynamics and track operations, but the technical director role requires a broader set of skills to have an overall vision of the project. Within the team, the person closest to taking on this challenging role is the head of aerodynamics, Diego Tondi, but even for him, it is a big step.
Does Adrian Newey want him?
There remains hope for Adrian Newey’s acceptance, but the risk of it not happening is high. There’s even a rumor that it was Adrian Newey himself, already in agreement with Stroll, who called Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin! Meanwhile, Ferrari has regressed by two months, producing nothing fruitful since the Imola GP (May 19). The departure of the man at the top of the technical pyramid comes not only at a critical time for development but also when the 2025 Ferrari project, the so-called Hamilton Ferrari, should be gaining momentum. Amid all this, the team is divided, and the arrival (on October 1, like Serra) of Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio as deputy team principal is causing friction among the pit wall team. Frederic Vasseur has not altered the organizational structure since his arrival (January 2023); it remains exactly as designed years ago by Mattia Binotto. The only changes have been personnel moves to cover gaps left by those who departed: Laurent Mekies, David Sanchez, and others of lesser importance.
Without regrets
If not for this gaping hole in the staff, Enrico Cardile’s departure would be accepted without regrets: the engineer bears significant responsibility for the current deplorable state of the Scuderia. Alongside the Maranello team since 2005, Enrico Cardile rose through the ranks in the Ferrari Racing Division thanks to former president Sergio Marchionne’s policy of removing top figures to make way for second-tier ones. The paradox is that Mercedes is becoming competitive again under the technical direction of James Allison, who was let go for this reason in 2016, and McLaren is succeeding with another ex-Ferrari man, Andrea Stella, as team principal. Now it is the responsibility of Fred Vasseur to solve the severe crisis. No more excuses, no more tenths of a second making the difference between everything and nothing. Many say he is very capable: here is his chance to prove it.
