Ferrari swerves rumours of swoop for Mercedes’ engine guru Andy Cowell
Mattia Binotto insists there will be no new names joining the ailing Ferrari F1 team ‘very soon’ amid rumours it is looking to hire outgoing Mercedes F1 engine boss Andy Cowell.
Ahead of what will be Ferrari’s 1000th grand prix this weekend when F1 makes a maiden visit to its home Mugello circuit in Tuscany, the manufacturer is bracing itself for another tough weekend in what is set to conclude as one of its worst-ever seasons.
Though Ferrari insists its issues are broad across its technical department, it’s dire showing at Spa and Monza betrayed a visible lack of performance from its engine, widely viewed as the fallout from the FIA’s clampdown on a ‘fuel flow irregularity’ towards the back end of the 2019 F1 season.
As a result, growing speculation has linked Cowell, the mastermind behind the Mercedes power unit that has dominated the sport since the introduction of V6 era, with a switch to Ferrari following the announcement he is exiting the German firm.
However, Binotto insists Ferrari is not taking on any new members for now, even if he doesn’t outright deny interest in Cowell, simply saying he remains ‘contracted to Mercedes’
“In terms of new people joining Ferrari in the future, I think that in F1 you can never be satisfied,” he said.
“If there is anyone that can bring added value to the team, it’s our responsibility to look for it and eventually to do it.
“As far as I’m aware, he’s [Cowell] working with Mercedes still. There are certainly great names in F1. Is there someone joining very soon [at] Ferrari? That’s not the case.
“We restructured the technical department, now it’s only a very little time since it’s happened.
“I think normally to see the results of an organisation, it takes some more time.
“I’m pretty happy in the way that I can feel the people feel responsible, understand the matter of urgency of our situation, are working hard, committed and united in the way to progress the car and somewhat progress our competitiveness.”
