Ferrari appoints Mercedes capture Serra as new F1 technical director

The Ferrari Formula 1 team has appointed former Mercedes engineer Loic Serra as its new technical director on the chassis side.

Ferrari had initially poached Serra from Mercedes in the summer of last year, but due to an extended gardening period Serra is yet to start working at Maranello.

Once he joins the team on 1 October, the Frenchman will become Ferrari's new chassis technical director, taking over the role vacated by Enrico Cardile in July.

Team boss Fred Vasseur briefly took up the position on an interim basis before working on a technical restructuring, which has now fully taken shape.

In a press statement on Thursday, Ferrari outlined its refreshed technical line-up on the chassis side: "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."

Loic Serra, Ferrari Head of Chassis Performance Engineering, Jerome d’Ambrosio, Ferrari Deputy Team Principal

Photo by: Ferrari

Enrico Gualtieri remains in place an the technical director on the power unit side, overseeing the development of its new engines for the 2026 rules.

Cardile left Ferrari in July after accepting a senior technical position within Aston Martin, where he will join up with technical director Dan Fellows once his gardening leave period ends.

It is also widely expected former Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey will join the Silverstone team as a consultant, with an announcement understood to be imminent.

At Ferrari Serra will be reunited with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who joins the team ahead of the 2025 season.

The announcement comes in the wake of an upturn in form for the Scuderia after struggling with its latest floor upgrades before the summer break.

Charles Leclerc took a surprise podium at Zandvoort's Dutch Grand Prix, before gifting Ferrari an emotional win in front of its tifosi at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Despite McLaren taking over the mantle from Red Bull as the fastest team in F1 right now, Ferrari is hot on the heels of both teams in the constructors' championship, coming to within 39 points of leader Red Bull and 31 points behind McLaren.

Watch: Why Monza was Ferrari's Win, Not McLaren's Loss - F1 Italian GP Analysis