It’s just the tip of the iceberg, but a phase of great change has begun in Ferrari which should modify the technical structure of the Maranello team. Alpine has made it official that Eric Meignan is the new technical director in the power unit area at Viry Chatillon. After four years in Maranello, where he was head of the engine department, Eric has concluded the planned gardening leave period and for about a month he has been active in his new role which will see him mostly involved in defining the 2026 power unit.
Photo by: FIA Pool
Bruno Famin, runs Alpine and has chosen Meignan as head of engines in Vry Chatillon
The Scuderia loses a highly experienced technician because he had previously also been an important figure on the staff of Brixworth, i.e. the home of the Star engines which is Mercedes High Performance Powertrains. The Frenchman who trained at Peugeot (where the current Alpine team principal, Bruno Famin was) has acquired a lot of experience in various motoring realities (Cosworth, Mecachrome) and will be the technician who will have the task of redesigning a department that until now it wasn’t excellent, given that the Renault E-Tech R23 engine is considered the least powerful in the Circus.
Meignan’s exit kicks off the… doors open to Maranello: there are around ten figures who are leaving the Sport Management and, in particular, Audi and Honda are reportedly targeting specialists in the area of 6-cylinder combustion who would be attracted with very interesting economic offers.
![Gualtieri with the Scuderia's head of communications, Boccafogli: many engine engineers are feared to leave in Maranello](https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0oOBLyj0/s1000/enrico-gualtieri-1.jpg)
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
Gualtieri with the Scuderia’s head of communications, Boccafogli: many engine engineers are feared to leave in Maranello
There is talk of even prominent roles, but there are no previews of the names of Enrico Gualtieri’s staff who are outgoing. Fred Vasseur doesn’t seem upset by the turnover, because the Cavallino team principal is deep down redesigning the technical scenario under the two Enricos (Cardile, chassis chief and Gualtieri, engine chief).
By the end of the year, important reinforcements will arrive both in the chassis area and in the aerodynamic and engine staff, waiting for the likes of Loic Serra, the transalpine who is in charge of the development of Mercedes, to be released in 2024. In short, major maneuvers are underway in a very complicated area where there are two manufacturers who are dredging resources in the motoring field (Audi had dried up a good number of Mercedes engineers, while now it seems it’s Ferrari’s turn, back in vogue with the 066/10) and with the constraints of gardening which makes the movements of the technicians very deferred over time.
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