One of the fils rouges that connect the old Formula 1 to the modern one is also this. Teams in difficulty have always found relief from the addition of new figures, ideas, visions. And today, as then, the mandatory purchasing campaign to get back on top is as difficult as it is decisive. He proved it Aston Martin, which thanks to winning technicians is laying the foundations for what increasingly seems to be the genesis of a top team. And he's trying too Ferrari, following the Verdona philosophy, to attempt a relaunch that starts first of all from the science of bolts.
Aston Martin has led the way in silence
The market coup with which Aston Martin pocketed the former Red Bull Dan Fallows marked the turning point for the English team. The British technician started working at the Silverstone headquarters on April 2, 2022, ed exactly one year later, the team placed Fernando Alonso on the podium of Australian Grand Prix. The tune has changed since 2022, when Aston was unable to take home more than a seventh place in the constructors' standings. Success, obviously, is not just the merit of one man.
The signings of Lawrence Stroll's team start from afar. Already in the 2021, when Red Bull marked the end of the Mercedes era on the artificial island of Yas, Aston Martin, without attracting too much attention, he brought seven Winged Bull engineers on his side. The concept is crystal clear: if you draw from winning teams you inevitably become stronger, as obvious as it is difficult. Indeed, some might have more of a problem doing this, and that someone is called Ferrari.
Ferrari: a purchasing campaign not without obstacles
The red, despite the latest disappointing results, is demonstrating that there is a desire to return to success. Unlike the Binotto era, in fact, Vasseur's approach aims to follow the path traced by Aston. If with the old line it was difficult to get one's nose into the confines of her Majesty, with the new number 1 from Maranello there is more insistence in trying to persuade English minds and not to arrive in the Bel Paese.
The SF-23 was born in a transition phase, and the performances testify to this. The exit of men like Sanchez, landed in McLaren, did not make the genesis of the new red a happy event. The technical direction is dubious and, from the outside, it doesn't seem to have the innovative ideas that those across the Channel get used to in grand prix after grand prix. The main problem is that bring new figures to Emilia, to date, it is more difficult than in the past.
The budget cap is slowing down offers that would entice anyone, e the prestige of the little horse no longer seems imbued with the appeal that made the red one great of the beginning of the millennium. Last but not least, the geographical factor. Vasseur & Co. are forced to bend over backwards to convince technicians with families to change their lives, and the conquests made so far do not appear to be front-page hits.
McLaren vs Ferrari: the papaya finds a technical director before the red one
The search for a technical director to replace Enrico Cardile seems to be one of the main objectives of Ferrari. The negotiations between the red and Milton Keynes regarding the Mekies affair are fresh, where the counterpart of the Frenchman's release would be Pierre Waché – technical director of Red Bull –. Waché's arrival, however, seems unlikely, a sign that the red is struggling to get out of the hole, even though the 2024 car is already something more than a draft.
Those who have already found a technical director are McLaren. The Woking team landed Rob Marshall, former Chief Engineering Officer of Red Bull. Whether she was smarter or lucky – given the proximity between the two locations –, does not matter. What matters is the fact that it has brought more than valuable know-how into its own home, something that Ferrari is trying to do with obvious difficulty, and with time running out.
