Enrico Cardile has reportedly accepted the offer from Aston Martin, with Loic Serra set to replace him in the role of technical director at Ferrari starting from October 1st.
The news, which arrived just a few minutes ago, is significant and is inevitably going to heavily disrupt Ferrari’s upper management structure. According to Formu1a.uno, Enrico Cardile has accepted Lawrence Stroll’s offer, with the Italian technician from set to bid farewell to the prancing horse after twenty years to join Aston Martin.
Enrico Cardile is about to pack his bags
Loic Serra, one of the two key figures poached from Mercedes a few months ago and strongly desired by team principal Frederic Vasseur, will replace him.
Although he was appointed as Head of Chassis Performance Engineering, the French engineer will take on many of the current technical director’s duties and will play a crucial role in the design of the 2025 and especially the 2026 car, the year in which the new technical regulations will come into force.
Additionally, as stated in the press release published by Ferrari on May 13th, Loic Serra “will coordinate the work of various departments, including Track Engineering, Aero Development, Aero Operations, and Vehicle Performance.”
It remains to be seen when the official separation between Enrico Cardile and Ferrari will take place, with the SF24 still in full development phase following the latest updates introduced in Barcelona, and with a second package yet to be completed in Silverstone. There will then be a third package, expected to be introduced around the last third of the championship.
It is highly likely that Ferrari will allow Enrico Cardile to complete the development program for the 2024 car, before leaving the team in the summer and entering a long gardening leave. However, at the moment, it is not known how many months the technician will be inactive.
Enrico Cardile’s departure is also not an indication of the imminent arrival of Adrian Newey, with the English designer yet to make a definitive decision about his future, and Ferrari aiming to empower Loic Serra, one of the figures who has contributed over the years to making Mercedes a true powerhouse.
Source: f1ingenerale
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