Ferrari restructures F1 technical department over 2020 slump

Ferrari has slumped into F1’s midfield in the early part of the new season after suffering from a significant loss in straight-line speed over the winter.

The team currently sits fifth in the constructors’ standings after three races, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finishing sixth and 11th at the last race in Hungary.

Team principal Mattia Binotto recently said there would not be a knee-jerk reaction or mass sackings following the difficult start to the season.

Ferrari has now announced a restructuring of its technical team, creating a new performance development department.

The restructuring aims to “render it more effective and assure a more holistic emphasis on performance development” by “instituting a chain of command that is more focused and simplified and provides the heads of each department the necessary powers to achieve their objectives.”

The performance development department will be overseen by Enrico Cardile, who has served as Ferrari’s head of aerodynamics and vehicle project management.

“The other main areas are unchanged with Enrico Gualtieri in charge of the Power Unit, Laurent Mekies as Sporting Director and in charge of trackside activities, while Simone Resta will continue to lead the Chassis Engineering department,” the statement adds.

“As hinted at a few days ago, we are making changes to the technical side of the organisation so as to speed up the design and development on the car performance front,” explained Binotto.

“A change of direction was needed to define clear lines of responsibility and working processes, while reaffirming the company’s faith in its technical talent pool.

"The department run by Enrico Cardile will be able to count on the experience of Rory Byrne and established engineers such as David Sanchez. It will be the cornerstone of the car’s development.

“We believe Ferrari personnel are of the highest level and we have nothing to envy about our main competitors in this respect, but we had to make a decisive change, raising the bar in terms of the responsibilities of the department heads.”

Ferrari is anticipating its struggles will continue into 2021 as the existing cars will continue to race next year in a cost-saving drive, with limited development permitted.

Binotto stressed Ferrari’s focus is on building a long-term project at Maranello that can be successful, with the technical restructure being part of this.

“We have said it several times, but it’s worth repeating: we have started to lay the foundations of a process which should lead to a new and enduring winning cycle,” Binotto said.

“It will take some time and we will suffer setbacks like the one we are experiencing right now in terms of results and performance.

“However, we must react to these shortcomings with strength and determination to get back to being at the very top of this sport as soon as possible.

“This is what we all want and what our fans all over the world expect of us.”