Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur finds himself at the helm of a Maranello team that is taking a bad turn. Through a brief statement posted by the Italian side’s social media accounts earlier this week, the Prancing Horse announced the end of its professional collaboration with Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile, effective immediately The Head of the Ferrari Aerodynamics Department had been working in Maranello for almost two decades. The news itself is not surprising, as rumors have been circulating for several weeks about Aston Martin’s strong interest in the engineer from Italy. What is concerning are the timing and manner of the termination, similar to those reserved for David Sanchez. The consensual end of a sudden experience is usually due to one main reason: a lack of mutual trust between the parties involved.
Regardless of the subjective judgment about the caliber of a professional who operates in the most important category of motorsport, the exodus of technicians from Maranello is certainly a result of the reorganization plan of the Ferrari Racing Department undertaken by Frederic Vasseur. Implemented in the first weeks of his tenure at the helm of the historic Ferrari team, Enrico Cardile’s departure differs from previous exits. The evidence is the placement of the French manager as the acting head of the technical direction.
This is obviously a temporary situation while waiting to assign Enrico Cardile’s duties to his successor. Nevertheless, the absence or inability to appoint a technically qualified profile as the head of the team suggests being caught off guard or simply not ready for the situation that has arisen. After all, one of the priorities of the French manager upon stepping into the Italian side was to separate the roles of team principal from those of technical director, previously held by Mattia Binotto.
Frederic Vasseur neither has the capacity nor the time to manage the team both technically and politically. Moreover, as we mentioned earlier, it is customary in large companies to assign the hierarchical supervisor, at least on an interim basis, the duties of the resource who has left the organization. What could have been the reasons for the departure of the Head of the Aerodynamics Department? It is unlikely that he paid the price for the ineffectiveness of the second aerodynamic update introduced by Ferrari this year at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. It seems much more realistic to think of another issue related to the near future.
It is not at all unreasonable to think that the 49-year-old Italian technician, newly appointed as Ferrari’s technical director at the beginning of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, might have started looking around, considering the entry of French ex-Mercedes engineer Loic Serra and the significant effort the Maranello team is making to secure the services of an F1 genius like Adrian Newey. From this perspective, Enrico Cardile could have started to thoroughly assess his market value and discover that he has several admirers in the highest category of motorsport.
In less than a year and a half, Frederic Vasseur has completely revolutionized Ferrari’s organizational structure at its highest levels. Still remaining (so to speak) are Enrico Gualtieri, head of the Power Unit area, and Carlos Sainz’s race engineer, Riccardo Adami. For intellectual honesty, it should be noted that many of the resigning or dismissed figures were heavily criticized, to the point where their departure was welcomed by fans as a relief. However, one other aspect should be pointed out: rather than a reorganization, we are facing a reset of the so-called “Steering Committee” previously shaped by former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto.
Based on cold numbers, it is correct to say that the previous management team, from 2019 to today, managed to bring 10 victories to the Prancing Horse out of 116 Grands Prix, creating six technical projects capable of brief exploits but not able to compete for the Formula 1 world titles. The turnover of technicians in teams is a widespread practice in this sport, yet doubt begins to creep in: is it possible that so many individuals decided to leave Ferrari solely because they were incompatible with Frederic Vasseur’s vision? Or conversely, was the Frenchman not recognized as a leader with authority?
The man who is supposed to lift the historic Italian team out of the quicksand in which it has been mired for over fifteen years? There is no worse organization where authority conferred in an organizational chart prevails over respect earned through competence and the ability to get the best out of collaborators. Yet, until the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari seemed poised for a leading season, until something broke just as the rumor of Adrian Newey’s hiring surfaced.
Enrico Cardile’s move to Aston Martin, which recently also announced the arrival of Andy Cowell, could open the door for Adrian Newey’s hiring by Ferrari. Unless the Italian engineer prefers to collaborate at Silverstone with the legendary car designer who has recently terminate his contract with Red Bull.
Another refusal by the Briton to Ferrari’s courtship would be embarrassing in terms of image and a hard blow for Frederic Vasseur. No one has forgotten the promise to hire top-level technicians. No offense to the French manager, but the arrival of Jerome D’Ambrosio and Loic Serra does not seem likely to shift the balance.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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