Ferrari shakes up technical department to accelerate car development after poor start to 2020 | 2020 F1 season

Ferrari has announced a reorganisation of its technical department to accelerate development of its car in the wake of its poor start to the 2020 F1 season.

The team which won three races last year have lagged well off the pace of rivals Mercedes since the season began, and were unable to get both cars into the final stage of qualifying at the two opening rounds.

The SF1000’s straight-line performance is a particular weakness. This is believed to be due to a loss of engine performance since last year and its car’s high-drag characteristics.

In a statement Ferrari said its overhauled technical department will be “more focused and simplified and provides the heads of each department the necessary powers to achieve their objectives.” It involves the creation of a new department for performance development which will be run by Enrico Cardile.

“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,” said team principal Mattia 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.

“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.”

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