Former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile - Photo: Race Pictures

Aston Martin F1 CEO reveals Cardile's 'impact' after Ferrari dispute

07:38, 18 Sep

byTobia Elia

Aston Martin F1 CEO Andy Cowell discussed how former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile has settled into the team.

Former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile - Photo: Race Pictures

"Enrico is a wonderful human being with a wealth of experience in Formula 1"

- Andy Cowell

"Enrico is a wonderful human being with a wealth of experience in Formula 1, both in terms of organisational methods and technical understanding," the former Mercedes figure stated.

"He's not been with us for long, but the team can feel that experience already through the early impact he's had, and I'm excited to see how that develops further as he fully embeds himself and gets to know everyone."

"On a personal note, being in a position to work with the likes of Enrico, Adrian and all the other fantastic minds we have inside the team, as we bid to get Aston Martin to the front of the Formula 1 grid, is hugely exciting," Cowell added.

"Adrian has added a big lift to the approach the team is taking and people are enjoying their work; they're smiling at the results they're seeing."

Like its rivals, Aston Martin has long since shifted its focus to 2026, especially given that the AMR25 has struggled to impress in terms of competitiveness, even if the car has shown flashes of promise in recent races.

"With the slender amount of resource that's still being applied to AMR25, it's really good to see the way department leaders have been pulling together to work out the best direction for development and optimisation.

"We would love to put more of our energy into the AMR25, but nearly all of our time now is being spent on the 2026 car. Naturally, we're focused on the bits that have not gone so well so we can keep improving."

Why Cardile did not settle in earlier?

The Italian engineer announced his departure from Ferrari in July 2024 before entering an extended gardening leave, after which he was set to take on the role of CTO starting this season.

However, due to contractual restrictions, Cardile officially began his duties at Aston Martin only on August 4.

"With reference to the recent news regarding the timing of Enrico Cardile's arrival at Aston Martin, Ferrari clarifies that a few weeks ago the Court of Modena, upholding the requests of the Company, ordered Enrico Cardile to immediately cease any form of collaboration with Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team until next July 18," Ferrari's statement read back in March.

"In this urgent procedural phase, the Court of Modena found that our former employee was already violating the non-compete commitment with Ferrari, whose purpose was precisely to prevent other F1 teams from gaining an unjustified competitive advantage by hiring Cardile earlier than allowed, causing irreparable harm to Ferrari."

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