Although there have only been four races so far, the 2023 Formula One season has once again highlighted the great competitiveness of the reigning champions Red Bull. The Anglo-Austrian team is undoubtedly the reference point in the paddock for those who want to return to winning ways. From Milton Keynes, Ferrari would therefore like to take some pieces from Red Bull’s winning chessboard: the names that have made the front page are those of engineers Pierre Waché and Enrico Balbo, who, however, are not convinced of leaving the Austrian side.
The departure of David Sanchez from Maranello, who moved to Woking to work for McLaren, and that of Laurent Mekies, who agreed to join AlphaTauri for the upcoming Formula One season, are part of a restructuring of the Italian side. In recent weeks, the names of Italian Enrico Balbo, responsible for aerodynamics, and Frenchman Pierre Waché, technical director, both employed by Red Bull, had been mentioned with some insistence in the Italian and international media.
However, Red Bull is not a supermarket. The two important engineers of the world championship leading team would not be on the verge of leaving England and probably won’t do so very easily.
The rumors come directly from Italy. La Gazzetta dello Sport, in an article written by Luigi Perna, reports on the difficulties of Ferrari in terms of negotiations. The Italian daily newspaper informs: “The goal is obviously the top engineers of Red Bull. But the attempt so far doesn’t seem to have been successful.”
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“There was a proposal for Enrico Balbo from Ferrari, but the negotiations immediately stopped due to his refusal to leave Milton Keynes,” reads between the lines of the sports newspaper. Regarding his French colleague: “In addition, Pierre Waché was also contacted, but the response was also rejected.”
No luck for the two top technicians, but movements in Maranello remain constant: “More engineers are coming to Ferrari. However, they would be middle-level figures, like the twenty engineers that Mattia Binotto recruited last year and who are already working in Maranello,” – Formula 1 journalist Luigi Perna writes for La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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