Struggling Ferrari restructure technical department
Ferrari have announced a restructure of their technical department as the famous team strives to become a force again following a dismal start to the Formula One season.
The Scuderia have earned only 27 points from the first three races of the year, hitting a new low when Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel retired early in the Styrian Grand Prix after they crashed on the first lap.
Team principal Mattia Binotto stated Ferrari will be forced to revisit "the entire car project" but said there would not be sackings after Vettel finished a season-best sixth at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, with team-mate Leclerc in 11th place.
Binotto warned there is no quick fix to their problems, but the Italian team have acted swiftly in making changes behind the scenes.
A Ferrari statement said: "Scuderia Ferrari has restructured its technical department to render it more effective and assure a more holistic emphasis on performance development.
"This has been achieved 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.
"To this end, it has also established a new Performance Development department, headed up by Enrico Cardile.
"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."
We go again next week #essereFerrari pic.twitter.com/dujQO8hoHN
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 21, 2020
Binotto said: "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. 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.
"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. 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."