Ferrari bid to poach Red Bull boss after signing Hamilton ally with "connection"

17 August 2023 , 19:01

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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes lost a key team member to Ferrari (Image: Qian Jun/Getty Images)

Ferrari are plotting to follow up their capture of a key man at Mercedes by raiding Red Bull for one of Christian Horner's integral team members.

It emerged last month that the Italian giants had persuaded Mercedes performance director Loic Serra to leave the Silver Arrows. However, the Frenchman, said to be an 'ally' of a seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, won't be available to start work until 2025 as he his contracted to Toto Wolff's team for a further 16 months.

And the signing of Serra could pave the way for Ferrari Team Principle Fred Vasseur to get another influential figure on board. He'd previously failed in his bid to sign Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache, with Serra's compatriot turning down an offer.

But now Vasseur is set to make a second move for Wache. And he's hoping that recent developments will persuade the former BMW Sauber man to change his stance.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari are hoping to use Serra to persuade Wach to follow him over. The pair are known to be good friends, and reporter Michael Schmidt said after the Belgian Grand Prix there was an ulterior motive for the pursuit of Serra.

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“I believe Loic Serra was chosen carefully,” he said. “He is one of the best friends of Pierre Wache, the Technical Director of Red Bull. The two often spend hours together in the paddock, even though they are from rival teams.

“Both are heavy smokers and chat there. I’d love to listen in on what those two say to each other. I think Vasseur is also trying to get Pierre Wache through this connection. From what I hear from Red Bull, (Vasseur) has been going at it and was really close (to signing Wache), and maybe he’s still trying.”

Pierre Wache has previously turned down the Scuderia (Getty Images)

Vasseur will hope the new additions will help the Scuderia return to form amid a wretched 2023 campaign. Neither Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz have managed a win between them in 12 Grand Prix races, and languish fifth and seventh in the standings' respectively.

And the team are currently fourth in the Constructors' battle, slipping behind Mercedes and Aston Martin as well as Red Bull. That follows a 2022 season where Leclerc, and the team, finished second overall.

Vasseur took over as Team Principle at the start of this year after long-term servant Mattia Binotto was released after more than 25 years with the team. But the Frenchman has found himself under pressure after failing to stamp out the strategic blunders and car reliability issues that plagues his drivers last time around.

Fraser Watson