Adrian Newey hint dropped by ex-Ferrari employee after Enrico Cardile exit

Follow us on Google Discover

Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile is leaving his post with immediate effect, the team announced on Monday. Team principal Fred Vasseur will take over the chassis department in the interim.

Cardile is expected to join Aston Martin to work under former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell, who’s just joined as CEO. Ferrari have already brought in Loic Serra as head of chassis performance and engineering, but he won’t start work until the autumn.

The Scuderia started the year as the nearest challengers to Red Bull, winning in Australia after Max Verstappen retired and finishing with at least one car on the podium at each of the first four races. When Charles Leclerc won in Monaco at the end of May, he was only 31 points behind Verstappen in the standings.

Ferrari were just 24 adrift of Red Bull in the constructors’ too, but they have since lost ground in the development race. McLaren were first to edge ahead, and now Mercedes appear to be in front too.

The Scuderia introduced upgrades in Barcelona but they appear to have generated more headaches than performance gains. The team may be forced to rethink the development plan for the SF-24.

Cardile’s exit is unrelated to the team’s recent loss of form. But it is intriguing in the context of the team’s pursuit of Adrian Newey.

Ruth Buscombe hints Adrian Newey may replace Enrico Cardile at Ferrari

Serra would have reported to Cardile, so he won’t be seen as a direct replacement. The Italian giants now have even more room to integrate Newey.

Aston Martin are Ferrari’s main rivals in the race to sign Red Bull’s departing designer. But following the anticipated arrival of Cardile, it’s difficult to see where he fits into Lawrence Stroll’s team.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ruth Buscombe, who worked as a strategist at Maranello from 2012 to 2015, shared Ferrari’s Monday announcement on her Instagram story. She suggested that the door is now open for Newey.

“Fuori il vecchio, dentro il Nuovey?” Buscombe wrote. That translates to ‘out with the old, in with the new?’.

What Newey was spotted doing at British Grand Prix

It’s worth noting that Ferrari have pitched a ‘super consultant’ role to Newey. The 65-year-old wants that level of flexibility at this stage of his career, so may not be interested in a fully-fledged technical director position.

The likelihood, then, is that Vasseur would still need to hire somebody else to fill out the structure ahead of 2026. But Aston Martin themselves thought there could be internal tension if Ferrari tried to pair Newey with Cardile, so they may shy away from doing the same.

The Englishman is only appearing at a handful of races this year after handing in his Red Bull resignation, but he was in attendance for the British Grand Prix last weekend. He saw Verstappen finish second behind Lewis Hamilton.

Intriguingly, Ted Kravitz spotted Newey sketching the design of the RB20 and its rivals ahead of Sunday’s race. He suspects he’ll be taking this information to his next team after he makes his decision in the autumn.