Ferrari’s efforts to hire two senior engineers from Red Bull have proved unsuccessful, as the Italian team looks to find a way to rebound amid a tough start to the 2023 season.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari attempted to poach Red Bull’s head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo and technical director Pierre Wache but both turned down the move after negotiations with the team.
“Other engineers are arriving at Ferrari but they are medium-level figures, like the 20 recruited by Mattia Binotto last year,” Luigi Perna wrote in the publication.
The inability to secure top tier talent from Red Bull comes after Ferrari failed to sign Dan Fallows from the title-holders last year, as he chose to move to Aston Martin instead.
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“Everything broke down because Ferrari did not want to meet the financial demands of the British engineer,” Perna claimed.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur did not discuss specific targets but admitted that Italian constructor is currently in the middle of a “massive recruiting operation,” as it looks to bolster its talent.
However, Ferrari might need to be more worried about losing key staff members than securing them as Laurent Mekies, a key member of the Italian team just announced his departure to join AlphaTauri.
Mekies will replace Franz Tost as team principal of AlphaTauri next season, as the long-serving boss departs the Red Bull junior team amid a lacklustre performance on the grid.
“We often dwell on the names of those who leave,” Vasseur said, “while so many others are arriving.”
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Alongside its hiring spree, Ferrari is working to get itself back to winning ways through a series of upgrades, with some scheduled for this weekend in Miami and more to follow in Imola.
Carlos Sainz revealed that the upgrades in Miami are focused on improving the handling of the 2023 car, which has proved disappointing compared to the team’s performance last year.
“To be honest, it’s a difficult car that has given me a lot of headaches in these first few races, hence the changes we’re making,” the Spaniard said.“There are things in the car that we don’t like and we are trying to fix them. It’s a very aggressive plan that has been put in place in Maranello to try and turn the season around.