Arrows signs Petrucci as Hamidy replacement

Petrucci has already arrived at the team's Leafield HQ, while Hamidy is due to take up his position at Jordan next week. Hamidy was responsible for penning last year's nimble A21, but Arrows have played down the influence of his departure on this year's AMT-powered A22.

"Eghbal was very good, but he had an opportunity that was too good to pass up," Arrows technical director Mike Coughlan told Autosport's sister magazine Motoring News. "So when he said he was going, I contacted Nicolo, who was actually my preferred choice before Eghbal, but previously wanted to stay at Ferrari to win a world championship."

Team boss Tom Walkinshaw also said he believes the Iranian's role within the team should not be overstated.

"Eghbal's departure obviously has an impact, but it's not catastrophic," he said. "F1 teams are not like the old days when you had a genius like Colin Chapman or a John Barnard doing it all, with three dozen people under them. You've got 300 people now and dozens of them are key to the design and development of the car."

However, Coughlan echoed the sentiments of former driver Pedro de la Rosa who, following the announcement of Hamidy's departure, voiced concerns over the continuity of the team's technical staff.

"Change is not something you would choose," Coughlan said, "because consistency of design, both in structure and philosophy, is very important. Ferrari has linked its whole design team to a four-year contract. McLaren, too, has been stable for a long time."

Walkinshaw's team has further enhanced its facilities by buying the Bedford-based wind tunnel it shared with the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency. The team will have exclusive use of the tunnel, which is said to be one of the best in Europe.