Mercedes and Red Bull in transfer tussle over key Ferrari specialist – report

Red Bull reportedly went to battle off-track with a rival team, seemingly Mercedes, to secure the signature of engine specialist Angelo Rosetti from Ferrari, and it looks like they won.

Already teams are casting an eye to the F1 2026 campaign some way ahead, with the next re-write of the Formula 1 regulations set to arrive for that year.

And arguably the standout feature of that regulatory overhaul will be the arrival of brand new power units, ones which tip the scales further towards a reliance on electrical power, alongside the use of fully-sustainable fuels on the Internal Combustion Engine.

Ferrari lose specialists to Mercedes and Red Bull

If the prediction of Red Bull’s reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, a vocal critic of the 2026 regulations, is to come true, then the team with the strongest power unit from that season will find themselves with a big advantage over their rivals.

It is no surprise, then, that manufacturers are looking to get their houses in order with the best personnel for the job, and according to a report by the Italian branch ofMotorsport.com, Ferrari have already suffered a couple of setbacks.

They report that as per information coming from the Spanish press, two key cogs in the Ferrari machine on the power unit side, Emanuele Guidotti and Angelo Rosetti, had left the Scuderia around a year ago to then begin work with Mercedes upon the expiry of their gardening leave period.

But, while Guidotti, a ‘turbo and simulation specialist’, has apparently now been at work with Mercedes for around a month, the report claims that Red Bull actually won the race to Rosetti’s signature after a battle with a rival manufacturer, seemingly Mercedes, Red Bull Powertrains offering Rosetti a much-improved pay cheque compared to his Ferrari earnings.

Both Guidotti and Rosetti, the latter described as a ‘specialist in fluid dynamics and combustion’, were long-serving members of the Ferrari team with around nine and 12 years respectively served with the Scuderia.

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Ferrari detail Mercedes advantage in Red Bull staff poaching

In recent times Red Bull have been a popular shopping market when it comes to rival teams looking to bolster their ranks, unsurprising considering Red Bull have established themselves as the dominant force in this era of Formula 1.

But, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur recently told Sky Sports F1 that his team are at an instant disadvantage against the likes of Mercedes when it comes to luring staff away from teams like Red Bull due to their location.

Seven of the 10 F1 teams, Red Bull and Mercedes included, have bases in the UK, while Ferrari operate out of Maranello in Italy, which Vasseur says makes it harder to seal the deal on personnel signatures from rival teams.

“It’s not the same situation – you can move from Red Bull to Mercedes, keep the same hours, keep children in the same school and from the Friday to the Monday you can change and everything is perfect,” said Vasseur.

“If you want to come to Italy, it’s a different approach. You have to change the family environment and so on.”

F1 2023 has been far from a smooth campaign for Ferrari, though a strong showing last time out in Austria, where Ferrari comfortably had the beating of Aston Martin and Mercedes as Charles Leclerc scored a P2 finish, provided a much-needed shot of momentum as the team continue to put their upgraded SF-23 through its paces.

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