Frederic Vasseur has ‘no interest’ in hiring 15-time F1 champion to join Ferrari’s backroom staff

Follow us on Google Discover

Ferrari looked like Red Bull’s closest challenger at the beginning of the 2024 Formula 1 season, but they’ve been leapfrogged by McLaren and Mercedes in recent months.

An update added to the car at the Spanish Grand Prix has sent them backwards, causing a level of bouncing that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz haven’t been able to manage in recent races.

It’s left Ferrari having to sacrifice several practice sessions to diagnose the issue and while they think they’re on the cusp of solving those problems, it’s unfortunately set them back in both championships as a result.

There are reasons to be positive though and none more so because seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will arrive at the team at the beginning of next season.

He and Leclerc will hope to be title challengers once again if not in 2025, then certainly when the new regulations are introduced in 2026.

A report from Formu1a.uno has shared more details about the team Frederic Vasseur is building around him at Maranello.

It looks like Ferrari will miss out on Adrian Newey after he confirmed his exit from Red Bull earlier in the year.

Ferrari have also lost Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin and Vasseur is filling him for him at this moment in time.

However, Ferrari’s team principal has now ruled out a move for aerodynamicist Mike Elliott.

Elliott has won 15 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships combined during his time in F1, but that expertise doesn’t appear to be required by Ferrari.

READ MORE: Ferrari staff believe Frederic Vasseur has one ‘very, very good’ leadership quality

Frederic Vasseur has ‘no interest’ in hiring Mike Elliott for Ferrari

Elliott started his Formula 1 career with McLaren in 2000 before a spell as Renault’s principal aerodynamicist between 2008 and 2011.

However, it was his next move to Mercedes – where he worked closely with Hamilton – that began the most successful spell of his career.

Progressing from head of aerodynamics in 2012 to chief technical officer by the time he departed last year, Elliott oversaw an unprecedented period of domination.

The report from Formu1a.uno shares the fact that Elliott is currently a free agent after leaving Brackley in 2023.

However, Vasseur has ‘no interest’ in hiring Elliott and instead, Loic Serra will arrive from Mercedes as the team’s technical director.

Diego Tondi is currently the head of chassis development but has been covering the role of head of aerodynamics for months after he ‘refused’ to follow Cardile to Aston Martin.

It means there currently isn’t space for Elliott within the Ferrari technical structure.

This comes after Hamilton denied he played a role in Elliott’s departure from Mercedes last year.

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

Lewis Hamilton snubbed by another Mercedes staff member after Ferrari move

Hamilton has only switched teams once before in his F1 career, swapping McLaren for Mercedes.

It was an inspired choice but is going to make the next stage of his career particularly challenging with a move to a new country and an entirely new team culture to deal with.

Race engineer Pete Bonnington won’t be joining Hamilton at Ferrari after earning a promotion at Mercedes.

A clause in Hamilton’s contract made a move for Bonnington tricky to begin with, but he’s been tipped to work alongside Kimi Antonelli next year as he starts his Formula 1 journey.

Hamilton is pleased for Bonnington but it means he’ll be working with a current Ferrari race engineer in 2025.

Given the trouble Leclerc has had with his engineer this year, that may already be a cause for concern for the seven-time world champion.