Chief aerodynamicist exits as Mercedes trade key staff with Ferrari
Four important employees to trade teams earlier than originally expected
Mercedes’ chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino is set to exit the team.
Vino has been with Mercedes for six years but his departure means a reshuffle for their aero department.
Separately, Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio will also leave Mercedes and go to Ferrari.
But, Mercedes have recruited two important figures from Ferrari.
Simone Resta and Enrico Sampo will swap Maranello for Brackley.
Resta will become Mercedes' Strategic Development Director, and Sampo will be their Head of Performance Software Applications.
Mercedes and Ferrari have come to an arrangement where the employees can join their new employers from October 1, 2024, rather than wait for next season, Motorsport report.
Importantly, Lewis Hamilton will swap Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025.
Mercedes technical director James Allison discussed the exchange of staff at this weekend’s F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
“I don’t think there’s any point in me offering a commentary on motivation,” Allison said.
“Clearly a team needs to have a critical mass of experienced good people and we would not wish to see experienced good people leave us.
“But we also are gathering experienced and good people at a similar rate.
“I guess it’s our job to try and make sure we act in such a way as everybody would rather be with us than anywhere else.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
