Wednesday, January 05, 2011

GreenBkk Formula 1 | Ferrari reshuffles staff in reaction to Abu Dhabi blunder

Ferrari reshuffles staff in reaction to Abu Dhabi blunder

Pat Fry will take over Chris Dyer's role © Getty Images

Ferrari has replaced its head of engineering Chris Dyer with ex-McLaren designer Pat Fry, as it reacts to the tactical blunder that cost Fernando Alonso a stab at the drivers' title in Abu Dhabi.

Dyer has been widely blamed for making the call to bring Alonso in for tyres early during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a decision that led to the Ferrari driver getting stuck in traffic and falling back through the field.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali recently said in an interview with La Repubblica: "The mistake had a devastating effect. But in a normal race it was a normal error. So you can't jettison everything - even the good things - because of it.

"We will officially announce something in the coming hours and make sure that those who are making decisions in the crucial moments have all the tools to do not repeat the mistakes."

On Tuesday Ferrari confirmed Fry would take over Dyer's role, with the latter's position being "redefined in the next few days".

"Pat Fry will, in addition to his current role, take on the job of head of race track engineering," read a statement. "Up until yesterday, this position was held by Chris Dyer."

Dyer has been at Ferrari since 2001 and was the mastermind behind some of Michael Schumacher's victories with the team in the early 2000s. He was also Kimi Raikkonen's race engineer and oversaw Ferrari's last drivers' title in 2007.

The team also took the opportunity to introduce Neil Martin to the team.

"Joining the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is the respected engineer, Neil Martin, who takes on the role of heading up the new Operations Research department. A 38 year old Englishman, Martin previously worked for Red Bull and prior to that McLaren and he will now report directly to Technical Director, Aldo Costa."

Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)


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