‘Dan Fallows rejected Ferrari; top Red Bull staff opt against Maranello move’
Fallows, a long-serving Red Bull engineer, made a high-profile move to Aston Martin two years ago but it is now reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport that he very nearly joined Ferrari.
“The negotiation was at an advanced stage, there was already an agreement in principle,” the report says.
“But everything broke down because Ferrari did not want to meet the economic demands of the British engineer.”
Two years on, Aston Martin have roared into 2023 and out-performed Mercedes and Ferrari in the earliest races.
Key Red Bull staff reject Ferrari
Enrico Balbo and Pierre Wache have turned down the chance to swap Red Bull for Ferrari, the same report says.
New Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur reacted to news that he would lose Laurent Mekies to AlphaTauri by promising a “massive recruitment operation”.
The report in Italy says: “The target is obviously Red Bull's top engineers.
“But the attempt so far does not appear to have been successful.
“The many earthquakes at the top that the team has experienced during the last few managements do not reassure those who have to move there.”
Instead, Ferrari look set to add “mid-level figures”.
Many incoming staff would not be able to join immediately due to clauses in their existing contracts, meaning their arrival will not impact Ferrari in the short-term.
New Ferrari team plot 2024 car
The loss of David Sanchez, their head of vehicle concept, to McLaren means a new team of engineers must plot Ferrari’s car for next season.
Enrico Cardile (chassis), Diego Tondi (aerodynamics), Enrico Gualtieri (power unit) and Fabio Montecchi (chief designer) will be the brains behind the project.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
