Mercedes F1 chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino is leaving after a gardening leave period. This move follows recent key staff losses as the team strives to regain championship form.
Mercedes F1’s chief aerodynamicist, Gioacchino Vino, will leave the team after a gardening leave period.
A team spokesperson confirmed that Vino, who has held the position since October 2022 following a promotion (he joined as an aerodynamicist in 2018), is entering a gardening leave period.
The news of Vino’s departure comes just days after it was confirmed that performance director Loic Serra and head of driver development Jérôme D’Ambrosio will both join Ferrari on October 1, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Maranello in 2025.
In recent months, Mercedes also lost technical director Mike Elliott, as they strive to return to winning races and championships during the third year of the ground-effect era.
Reacting to the news during the day’s FIA press conference, technical director James Allison noted that the team is also recruiting to offset the departures. His words suggest that Vino has likely been hired elsewhere.
“I don’t think it’s helpful for me to comment on the motivation; it’s clear that a team needs to have a critical mass of experienced and skilled people.”
“We don’t want to see experienced and skilled people leave, but we are also recruiting experienced and skilled people at a similar rate to the departures.”
“So, I suppose it’s our job to try to ensure that we act in a way that makes people prefer to be with us rather than anywhere else.”
Is this series of departures not a concern for him?
“No, I think it’s more part of the normal ebb and flow of a Formula 1 team.”
“Teams are large these days, and each year you recruit a bunch of people, and there’s often a corresponding number who leave, either elsewhere in F1 or not. This is true in almost every team today as everyone has reached or is close to a critical size.”
Mercedes Faces Key Staff Departure Mercedes F1 chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino. Mercedes Faces Key Staff Departure Mercedes F1 chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino
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