Confirming a series of recent rumours linking him to a post within the Italian squad, former McLaren chief engineer Pat Fry has officially joined the Ferrari team in the role of assistant technical director, working alongside Aldo Costa.
Fry worked for McLaren for 18 years, most recently as the team's chief engineer, but left the Woking team earlier this year.
And Ferrari confirmed on Tuesday that he would start work with the Italian team from the start of next month, reporting directly to Costa.
The move was first reported over the weekend by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, though Ferrari initially refused to comment on the validity of the story.
A Ferrari statement on their official website confirmed that: "Ferrari announces that, as from 1st July, Pat Fry will join the Scuderia’s Technical Department."
The team also clarified that Fry's assistant role was a brand new position, and "the current structure of the Technical Department remains unchanged."
Speaking about Fry's departure last month, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said that: "I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a bit of a break, take a breather. I think he's worked very hard for the team for a number of years.
"Within our team, then, I think we've got quite a bit of a talent and depth, so in these situations it's a great opportunity for someone younger, maybe hungrier, to come along and replace all of us.
"We're all replaceable. I think the process will be the same but we're manned with fresh new engineers."
Fry shared the chief engineer role at McLaren with Tim Goss, and had worked on the early plans for the team's 2011 car designs.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
