Formula 1: Ferrari appoint Loic Serra as chassis technical director

Maranello (Italy): Scuderia Ferrari have appointed Frenchman Loic Serra as chassis technical director, the Formula One team announced on Thursday. The 52-year-old will replace Enrico Cardile, who joined Aston Martin as chief technical officer in June earlier this year.

Ferrari said that Serra will assume his role on October 1. Enrico Gualtieri will continue as power-unit technical director. Serra was linked up with the BMW Sauber team from 2006 to 2009 before joining Mercedes after BMW withdrew from Formula 1. He went on to become Mercedes' performance director in 2019.

Earlier, Ferrari announced that Serra would join the team as head of chassis performance engineering. However, the reassessment of the team's technical structure by boss Frederic Vasseur following Cardile's departure led to his promotion to chassis technical director.

Currently, Vasseur has been acting technical director since Cardile left the team. At Ferrari, Serra will reunite with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will join the side next year.

In last weekend's home Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won the race with Charles Sainz finishing fourth behind Mclaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Ferrari's one-spot gamble paid off on the fresh asphalt of Autodromo Nazionale Monza to score the maximum points to curtail the lead to defending champion Max Verstappen and Norris in the driver standings.