Key F1 figure explains why he won’t attend races this year after high-profile switch | F1 | Sport

Aston Martin chief technical officer Enrico Cardile has no plans to attend races before the end of the season as he continues work on the team’s much-anticipated 2026 challenger. The Italian started work with his new squad earlier this summer after a legal dispute with Ferrari.

Cardile had been working with Ferrari as technical director but was poached by Aston Martin in July 2024. However, the Scuderia were then embroiled in a legal dispute after an attempt to block their departing chief from starting his role until he had served one year of gardening leave.

In summer 2025, Cardile was finally able to start his new job with Aston Martin. There is plenty of optimism surrounding Team Silverstone’s project for 2026 and beyond, with legendary aerodynamicist Adrian Newey on board, and bespoke power units from Honda in the car.

Despite his hard work in the background, Cardile won’t be spotted trackside in 2025. “I’m not planning on attending any races this year,” he told the Aston Martin website. “There’s so much work to be done here at the AMR Technology Campus, and the activity around the 2026 car has my full focus. Next year though, yes, you’ll see me at the track.”

Cardile, who will report to both Newey and team principal Andy Cowell, himself recruited from Mercedes, is confident that Lawrence Stroll’s team will be fighting at the front end of the grid when the new regulations come into effect.

“It’s going to be a big departure from what we have now,” he continued. “A lot is changing. The aerodynamic concept is changing completely; the reduced minimum weight will be an enormous challenge for everyone. There is a new power unit, there is new fuel.

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“It’s a lot of variables up in the air – and that makes it very difficult to forecast where everyone is going to land. We have clear targets in mind for what we want to achieve, and we’re pushing very hard to explore our options. It’s an interesting task.

“Some of it is about understanding where to gamble: there are development directions that might not yield positive results straight away, but may help us reach ambitious final targets. We’re making some bets. It’s worth noting that this isn’t a project that finishes when the car launches next year.

“Of course, we want to have a quick car at the start of 2026, and right now we’re trying to use the remaining time we have to exploit what we’ve learned to the best of our abilities but, on the other hand, we have a long-term project: we’re working on the organisation, improving our tools, improving our processes, changing the way people are working together. In a word, we’re working on the culture of the team.”