Ferrari is reportedly preparing a significant recruitment move for its Formula 1 engine department, with a designer whose career includes experience within the Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains spheres emerging as a leading target. The potential arrival forms part of a wider effort to add key personnel as Maranello looks towards 2027 and attempts to reduce its power unit deficit.
The recruitment drive comes at an important moment for the Scuderia. Mercedes is regarded as having the strongest overall power unit under the current regulations, while Red Bull has been judged to possess the leading internal combustion engine. Ferrari, meanwhile, was found by the FIA to be more than four per cent behind, alongside Audi and Honda, despite using its ADUO development privileges twice during the 2026 season.
Ferrari targets key engine recruit for its 2027 F1 project
Italian journalist Franco Nugnes has reported that personnel changes are taking place within Ferrari’s engine operation, involving departures but, more importantly, new arrivals. He expects several significant figures to join the department as the team works to strengthen its technical structure.
One prospective recruit stands out in particular. According to Nugnes, Ferrari could bring in a designer whose career path includes experience connected to both Red Bull Powertrains and Mercedes. He suggested that such a move could introduce ideas influenced by the two organisations that have produced the strongest-performing engines under the new Formula 1 regulations.
Nugnes considers the recruitment an important strategic step in Ferrari’s planning for 2027. The timing is significant because the team has already suffered notable departures from its power unit operation. Ferrari’s leading energy-recovery specialist is leaving, while engine department chief Wolf Zimmermann and his deputy Lars Schmidt departed a year earlier to join Audi.
Bringing experienced personnel into Maranello would therefore serve two purposes: replenishing expertise lost through recent departures and introducing knowledge developed elsewhere in Formula 1’s increasingly competitive power unit landscape.
Ferrari still faces reported 20bhp deficit to Mercedes
Personnel changes alone will not solve Ferrari’s immediate performance problem. Nugnes estimates that the Italian power unit remains approximately 20bhp behind Mercedes, despite the development work completed during the season.
Ferrari has already introduced two engine upgrades by taking advantage of its ADUO privileges. Mercedes, by contrast, has yet to use its single available token, leaving open the possibility of another performance step from the benchmark power unit before the end of the campaign.
That prospect is particularly significant because another Mercedes engine specification could arrive as early as next month. If it produces the intended gain, the difference Ferrari is trying to recover could increase again before the 2026 season concludes.
The issue is not simply about a headline horsepower figure. Ferrari’s difficulties have also become visible through straight-line performance and energy deployment at circuits where sustained acceleration is particularly important. That will remain a central concern at Baku, where the Azerbaijan Grand Prix presents a demanding energy-management test for Ferrari.
Recorded maximum speeds and straight-line differences between the Scuderia and its rivals can also be examined through the F1 Top Speed Comparison.
SF-26 concept reportedly forced Ferrari into a costly compromise
The power unit situation is closely connected to the wider design philosophy behind the SF-26. Ferrari has apparently accepted that it made a fundamental mistake with the concept, pursuing an extreme aerodynamic solution while ultimately paying a price in straight-line performance.
Nugnes explained that Maranello had recognised it compromised too heavily on the chassis and aerodynamic side in pursuit of an ambitious overall car concept. That assessment does not mean the SF-26 lacks technically impressive solutions. On the contrary, he highlighted several areas of Loic Serra’s work, including the aerodynamics, FTM, rear wing and compact radiators.
The problem, in Nugnes’ assessment, is the trade-off. Those features helped Ferrari push the boundaries of its chassis and aerodynamic package, but the overall concept came at the expense of engine performance. That has left the power unit department with the task of recovering the remaining deficit to Mercedes.
The compromise has already been visible at demanding venues, with the SF-26’s difficult setup balance at Madring providing another example of the challenges created by Ferrari’s 2026 package.
Loic Serra earns praise despite Ferrari’s wider performance problems
Ferrari chassis technical director Loic Serra has nevertheless made a strong impression since moving to Maranello from Mercedes. Nugnes specifically praised the work carried out under his technical influence and stressed that the SF-26 contains several highly significant features despite its broader limitations.
The distinction is important. Ferrari’s concern is not that every aspect of the car concept has failed, but that the compromises required to produce the complete package have proved too costly in areas where Mercedes holds an advantage.
That helps explain why Ferrari has continued developing the SF-26 rather than abandoning the project entirely. Work carried out now can also contribute to future programmes, and the team believes continued SF-26 development can provide benefits for its 2027 Formula 1 car.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc wins have not erased Ferrari’s deficit
Ferrari’s season has still produced significant results. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have each won a Grand Prix and together have collected nine podium finishes. Those successes, however, have not been enough to place either driver firmly in championship contention.
The Constructors’ Championship presents another concern, with Ferrari at risk of losing second place to McLaren. The results underline the unusual position in which Maranello finds itself: the SF-26 has demonstrated enough performance to win races, yet the overall package has not consistently allowed Hamilton and Leclerc to challenge Mercedes at the front.
The season-long performance of the two Ferrari drivers can be followed through the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton head-to-head statistics.
Why Ferrari’s engine recruitment matters for 2027
The reported recruitment effort therefore extends beyond filling vacancies. Ferrari is attempting to reinforce an engine department that must recover performance while simultaneously preparing for the next stage of Formula 1’s technical cycle.
A designer with experience spanning the Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains environments would potentially bring a different technical perspective to Maranello. For Nugnes, that influx of ideas from the two leading engine worlds is precisely what makes the prospective appointment strategically important.
Ferrari’s immediate challenge remains reducing the deficit with its current package, particularly with Mercedes still holding an unused development opportunity. Its longer-term task is to ensure that the weaknesses exposed during 2026 do not carry into the next project.
That makes the coming months particularly important for Maranello. The Scuderia has already used its available development opportunities to improve the current engine, but the reported 20bhp deficit remains. Strengthening the department with personnel carrying experience from rival power unit programmes could now become another part of Ferrari’s attempt to change that picture for 2027.
