F1 paddock believes key Red Bull figure is following Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari

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Formula 1 insiders believe Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache is on his way to Ferrari in the not-too-distant future to follow Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton’s move.

The Scuderia are likely to seek a vast recruitment drive after luring Hamilton from Mercedes on a multi-year contract. He will move to Maranello following the 2024 F1 season to replace Carlos Sainz racing in red. Sainz was already due to be out of contract at the end of this year.

Hamilton has activated a release clause in the contract he only agreed to in August to stay at Mercedes for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Now, Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff feels Ferrari are likely to target some of their chief figures, with Peter Bonnington a top candidate.

The F1 paddock expects Pierre Wache to join Ferrari

But BBC Sport notes that the Formula 1 paddock believes Red Bull chief Wache is already on his way to Ferrari. The Milton Keynes outfit’s technical director is the right-hand man to hero chief technical officer Adrian Newey. Yet he is touted to move in the ‘not-too-distant’ future.

Ferrari have previously tried to tempt Newey to head to Maranello. But the iconic Formula 1 designer developed cold feet on the, at least two, occasions that he was close to agreeing to join the Scuderia. Now, Wache’s expected switch could prevent any future moves for Newey.

Who is Red Bull’s F1 technical director, Pierre Wache?

Newey and Wache are responsible for designing Red Bull’s car which Max Verstappen utterly dominated the 2023 Formula 1 season with. He won 19 of the 22 Grand Prix last year, whilst teammate Sergio Perez won twice. Sainz was the only non-Red Bull race winner with Ferrari.

Wache joined Red Bull back in 2013 and the 49-year-old has risen through the ranks to claim the role of Newey’s No2. Now, the Formula 1 paddock feels the Frenchman has had enough of being the right-hand man to an icon and will imminently branch out on his own at Ferrari.

Red Bull initially hired Wache as their chief performance engineer after heading up Sauber’s vehicle performance department for two years. The former Michelin engineer took up their role of technical director in 2018. But it remains to be seen how much longer he stays there.

A chance to be the one who designs Ferrari’s first drivers’ championship-winning car since Kimi Raikkonen’s F2007 must surely appeal to Wache after six years as Newey’s No2 for Red Bull. Ferrari have not won the F1 constructors’ championship since the 2008 season, either.