Ferrari Announces Key Hire From Mercedes Who Will Reunite With Lewis Hamilton In 2025

The Ferrari F1 team has appointed former Mercedes engineer Loic Serra as its new technical director on the chassis side.

Hungarian Grand Prix - Ferrari / Ferrari Press Image

The Ferrari F1 team has appointed former Mercedes engineer Loic Serra as its new technical director on the chassis side. Serra will manage multiple areas of the team as part of its new structure and will reunite his Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton when he moves to Ferrari in 2025.

Although Ferrari hired Serra last summer, he has been on an extended gardening leave and will officially join the team on October 1. He will replace Enrico Cardile, who left Ferrari in July to assume the role of chief technical officer at Aston Martin next year.

As part of his responsibility, the ex-Mercedes team member will manage the chassis project engineering, vehicle performance, aerodynamics, track engineering, and chassis operations, with department heads Fabio Montecchi, Marco Aduno, Diego Tondi, Matteo Togninalli, and Diego Ioverno reporting directly to Serra. Serra will then report to team principal Fred Vasseur. Meanwhile, Enrico Gualtieri will remain as the technical director of the power unit.

In a press statement on Thursday, as reported by Motorsport.com, Ferrari explained its hierarchy on the chassis side. It said:

"In this new role [Serra] will report directly to the team principal, Fred Vasseur. Serra will therefore be responsible for the following departments: Chassis Project Engineering, headed up by Fabio Montecchi; Vehicle Performance, headed up by Marco Adurno; Aerodynamics, headed up by Diego Tondi; Track Engineering, headed up by Matteo Togninalli and Chassis Operations, headed up by to Diego Ioverno, who also continues in the role of Sporting Director."

Team announcement: pic.twitter.com/EWeo2J7r26

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 5, 2024

The recent changes at Ferrari come amidst a resurgence in the ground effect era, where the team has secured three wins despite facing challenges with upgrades to the SF-24 F1 car. Charles Leclerc's spectacular victory at the Italian Grand Prix, despite McLaren's dominance, suggests a more competitive F1 grid in the races ahead.

However, the impact of Serra's role may be most evident in Ferrari's title contender for 2025 and beyond. Another change the team recently made for 2025 is the signing of a multi-year contract with Italian banking entity UniCredit, which replaces team sponsor Santander.

In a statement about the deal with UniCredit, Ferrari said:

"Maranello, September 2, 2024 – Ferrari NV (NYSE/EXM: RACE) ('Ferrari' or the 'Company') announces that, effective January 1, 2025, UniCredit SpA will partner with Ferrari SpA, its wholly-owned subsidiary, to be at its side in its Formula 1 racing activities under a multi-year agreement."

Ferrari, alongside McLaren, is intensifying its challenge for the Constructors' Championship. Currently, Ferrari trails Red Bull, the leaders, by 39 points, and McLaren in second place, by 31 points. Despite the Papaya team being extremely close to overtaking Red Bull, victory could sway in any direction considering there are eight more Grands Prix to go.