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Xavier Marcos Padros, former race engineer of Charles Leclerc, has been roped in by Cadillac as a technical director of the LMDh sportscar project. He was replaced as Leclerc's race engineer mid-season last year and is set to part ways with Ferrari after seven years.
Leclerc, Ferrari's most flamboyant driver, had a mixed season in 2024. He broke the Monaco curse to win his home race at Circuit de Monaco. He also won the Italian and United States Grand Prix to finish P3 in the Drivers Championship.
However, Leclerc's race engineer was switched mid-season. His long-time partner, Xavier Marcos Padros, also known as 'Xavi,' was sacked after the Miami Grand Prix.
Ferrari announced that Bryan Bozzi will take over Xavi's role to become the Monegasque's new race engineer, whereas the Spaniard will return to unspecified engineering duties.
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Meanwhile, Xavi is set to depart Ferrari after seven years. According to Autosport, Cadillac has reportedly appointed him as technical director of the LMDh sportscar project. He will support and report to project manager Keely Bosn.
Cadillac's LMDh sportscar project began contesting in the World Endurance Championship in 2023 and previously raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Hence, Xavi is expected to play a key role in designing the future challenges of the project.
Xavi began his career in F1 as a performance engineer with HRT and Williams Racing. In 2015, he briefly moved to the NASCAR team Richard Childress Racing. However, in 2018, Xavi returned to F1 with Ferrari. He was appointed as race engineer for Charles Leclerc in the following year.
Meanwhile, Leclerc is likely to continue his partnership with Bryan Bozzi in the 2025 season. He is set to race with a new teammate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The British driver will likely be tied up with Ricciardo Adami as his race engineer for the upcoming season.
Charles Leclerc 'motivated' ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari move
Having a seven-time world champion as a teammate might be daunting for some drivers, but not for Charles Leclerc. Ahead of Lewis Hamilton's induction into Ferrari, the Monagasque revealed feeling motivated by the big transition. Talking to The New York Times, he said, via goodwood.com:
“He will bring a lot of motivation. Everybody's already super motivated, but when you have a seven-time champion joining the team, and, obviously, this is the biggest move of the last many, many, many, many years, that gives a boost to the team.
"Everybody's proud of being part of that story, and we all want to make that story as successful as possible, and for me, the most beneficial to Ferrari as a whole."
Charles Leclerc is excited to learn from Hamilton's experience and embrace his good traits in his career. The duo already shares a good relationship off the track, and that camaraderie will likely benefit Ferrari to ensure a smooth transition.
