Ferrari chief F1 designer Simone Resta to join Haas in 2021

Ferrari Formula 1 chief designer Simone Resta will relinquish his role at the Italian squad in order to join the technical department at Haas in 2021.

Resta, who rejoined Ferrari’s F1 programme from Alfa Romeo at the end of last season to takeover the chassis engineering department at the Scuderia, will make the switch to Haas to strengthen its technical team next year.

The American outfit enjoys close ties with Ferrari through its engine and technical collaboration and announced this week that it will hand Formula 2 championship leader and Ferrari Academy Driver Mick Schumacher his F1 debut in 2021.

As part of the technical reshuffle, Enrico Cardile will move into role previously carried out by Resta, while the rest of the organisation will remain the same, with Enrico Gualtieri heading the power unit division and sporting director Laurent Mekies in charge of overseeing track activities.

"The structure of Scuderia Ferrari evolves rapidly, staying ahead of the game,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. “As from 2021, with the introduction of new regulations, all of us will be facing new challenges that we must tackle with pragmatism and an open mind, which is in fact what we started to do with the organisational changes announced a few months ago.

“It is why we believe that our long-term relationship with Haas, dating back to when it first came into Formula 1, should be the basis for both parties to benefit from any possible synergy, consistent with what is defined in the FIA regulations.

“With that idea in mind, we are pleased to announce that the highly rated Simone Resta will move to strengthen the American team’s technical department as from the start of next year.

“This is a further step in the process of continuous evolution of the team’s technical department. Simone, whom we thank for his efforts to date, will have an important role within a team that has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Formula 1.

"It has just strengthened an already very close relationship with the Scuderia by taking on Ferrari Driver Academy driver Mick Schumacher. Within the Scuderia, Enrico Cardile will now be tasked with coordinating the technical and human resources directly linked to performance development and the design of the car."