Byrne: The F2005 will not have My Signature

With two seasons to go before his contract ends at Ferrari, chief designer Rory Byrne is already preparing his replacement and reveals today the 2005 car will not bear his signature.

Byrne joined Ferrari at the end of 1996 from Benetton, and he has been touted one of the best and most innovative designers in modern Formula One. But the South African, who has been credited for the dominant sequence of World Championship winning cars at Ferrari the past six years, said he is now passing his responsibilities along to his right hand man Aldo Costa, whom he expects to replace him when he retires after the 2006 season.

"Costa has been my right arm for many years: I trust him very much," Byrne told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport. "Various working teams respond to him now...When the time comes for my retirement, he will have to be in charge of the entire system."

Byrne further revealed that work on the 2005 challenger, the F2005, is already run under Costa's management, stating: "The 2005 car is already without my signature. The project is led by engineer Aldo Costa. We are exchanging roles: he is taking over lots of my responsibilities, while I supervise."

Byrne said he does not expect to renew his contract once it expires, in February 2007, but did not rule out staying involved with Ferrari in another capacity.

"My contract will end in February 2007, we'll see after that," he told the newspaper. "I could remain involved in a different way, but from 2007 I will certainly spend most of my time in Phuket, in Thailand, where my wife is from.

"I bought a 7,000 square meters piece of land by the sea: I will build a tourist village with cottages, while keeping the remembrance of the beautiful years at Ferrari for myself."