It was recently reported that Ferrari had successfully recruited performance director Loic Serra from Mercedes after failing to hire Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache.
Over the past few months, the Prancing Horse has been on a spree of recruiting new team personnel and making massive changes to their internal system. Hence, team principal Frederic Vasseur was trying everything to bring in Pierre Wache. The French engineer was not only on Ferrari's radar in 2023; former team principal Mattia Binotto was also after Wache in 2022.
The Italian team even tried to propose an exchange deal after they gave up their race director, Laurent Mekies, to Red Bull's sister team, AlphaTauri, for 2024. However, Red Bull managed to keep their technical director.
Hence, Ferrari started looking elsewhere for a reliable and strong senior engineer. They approached the other top team, Mercedes, for their performance director, Loic Serra. Though it has not been officially announced, as reported by formu1a.uno, the deal is done, and Serra will soon join the Italian team and start working with them.
Loic Serra's profile and expertise somewhat match Pierre Wache's, as both have ample knowledge regarding suspensions, vehicle dynamics, and their interaction with tires. Hence, the Maranello-based outfit was eager to nab Serra.
Only time will tell whether they have successfully done so once the official announcement is made by the team.
Carlos Sainz admits there are bigger problems in Ferrari to focus on than driver lineup and his future
Carlos Sainz admits that there are several more important issues at Ferrari that need more attention than driver contracts and his own future with the team and the sport.
The Spaniard also stated that he does not have the time to think about these things due to a jam-packed race calendar. Speaking at the drivers' press conference prior to the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP, where Sportskeeda was present, he said:
"I personally agree with Fréd. I think in Ferrari right now there are much bigger priorities than sorting out the future of its drivers. Also, personally, with so many races consecutively, it’s not like you can stop for a minute and really think about your future and what you want to do and what you see in the next two or three years happening for you. I think with so many back-to-backs, so many races, it’s difficult."
The Italian team is currently struggling to keep up with other top teams who are ahead of them in almost every race. They are currently fourth in the constructors' championship, while Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Red Bull are ahead of them.