Follow usFerrari will have to face significant loss of their engine department, with Wolf Zimmermann and Lars Schmidt set to leave the Italian team for Audi. The main man in this move is the former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto.
According to reports in Corriere della Sera and Corriere dello Sport, both engineers have been instrumental in Ferrari’s recent progress. Zimmermann, who has spent 11 years at the Scuderia, became Head of Research and Development and was a key architect of the team’s recent engine performance gains.
Audi has signed Wolf Zimmermann, the engineer who was leading Ferrari’s 2026 power unit project.
Zimmermann spent 11 years at Maranello & headed the new-gen engine program. Ferrari will now rely on Enrico Gualtieri, while also boosting staff from Renault.
Audi keeps stacking…
— Stake (Sauber) F1 Team News (@StakeF1TeamNews) September 10, 2025
Schmidt, who arrived two years after his colleague, has spent nine years at Ferrari, working his way up to Head of Development,
It is still unclear when the pair will officially take up their new roles at Audi, as senior technical staff are typically required to take substantial time off any Formula 1 role before joining a rival team just like Adrian Newey did when he made the move from Red Bull to Aston Martin.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur is understood to have tried to convince Zimmermann and Schmidt to stay, but was unable to prevent their departures.
Ferrari team boss is “disappointed” after Monza underperformance 
Verstappen masterclass leaves Piastri and Norris behind his back at Monza 
“Norris is not out of the title race”, says Piastri 
