Ferrari wins legal case against Aston Martin-bound Enrico Cardile
Ferrari have issued a statement, confirming that it won a legal case in Italy which prevents Enrico Cardile from starting work at Aston Martin as their new chief technical officer until July 18.
A day after last year's British Grand Prix, Ferrari confirmed the departure of their chassis technical director Enrico Cardile. The Italian qualified with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Pisa University in 2002 and his thesis was on the topic of the Ferrari wind tunnel. In 2003, he worked at the university, collaborating with Ferrari on an aerodynamic innovation project.
In 2005, he joined the Maranello company as head of the Termica Department taking on ever more responsibility, also working on the design of racing versions of Gran Turismo 458 Italia GT2 and GT3 and 488 GTE and GT3, cars which were dominant in their respective championships, with wins at the Daytona 24 hours and Le Mans as well as winning FIA WEC world titles.
In 2016, he joined the Gestione Sportiva as Head of Aero Development, while the following year, he was made Vehicle Project Manager. In 2019 he became Head of Aerodynamics and Vehicle Project Manager while in August 2020 he was appointed head of a new Performance Development Department.
Since 1st January 2021 he had been head of the Chassis Area. He continued in this role while also appointed Technical Director Chassis and Aerodynamics in 2023.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ferrari has confirmed that it won a case in Italy a "few weeks ago", with a Modena court ruling that Cardile was "already violating the non-compete commitment with Ferrari" and had to "immediately cease any form of collaboration with Aston Martin" until his period of gardening leave ends.
"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 18th.
"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," read Ferrari's statement.
Aston Martin said in a statement: "This is a matter between Enrico and Ferrari and their legal representatives in Italy, and the parties continue to be engaged in the process.
"As such we won't be making any further comment. We will make an announcement in due course."
