Mercedes bolster F1 technical team by poaching key Ferrari figures

Mercedes have bolstered their technical team by signing two key figures from Ferrari.

As initially reported by the BBC, Mercedes are set to sign Simone Resta, whose most recent role was at Haas after a number of years at Ferrari.

Resta will join Mercedes as their strategic development director, and thus will work closely with technical director James Allison.

Enrico Sampo will also make the switch from Ferrari to Mercedes, exchanging his driver simulator role to become head of performance software applications.

Sampo has held various roles at Ferrari since 2011, before focusing on the team’s simulator in the last four years.

It is understood that both Resta and Sampo will enter a period of gardening leave, and are unlikely to join Mercedes before the 2025 season.

It’s welcome news for Mercedes, which recently have been losing staff to Ferrari.

Superstar driver Lewis Hamilton will make the move in place of Carlos Sainz for 2025, while Jerome d’Ambrosio is set to leave his role with Mercedes for Ferrari.

Performance Director Loic Serra is also expected to join Ferrari as part of a busy recruitment drive by team principal Frederic Vasseur.

The two teams have had contrasting fortunes at the start of 2024.

Ferrari have been Red Bull’s closest challenger in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, seeing their drivers complete the podium behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in both races.

On the other hand, Mercedes have struggled relatively, particularly in Jeddah, where their deficit in high-speed corners resurfaced.

Mercedes have struggled with this set of regulations, taking just one victory since the start of 2022.

Their sole victory comes after years of domination from the start of 2014 up until 2021 where they remained unbeaten in the constructors’ championship.