Mercedes F1 chief aerodynamicist leaves Brackley squad

Mercedes has parted ways with another senior member of its F1 team, with chief aerodynamicist Gioacchino Vino moving on after six years with the Brackley squad.

It’s unclear whether Vino’s exit was decided by the Italian engineer or the result of Mercedes’ current struggles with the aerodynamics and balance of its 2024 car.

Regardless, Vino’s departure adds to those recently announced retreats of performance director Loic Serra and driver development director Jerome d’Ambrosio, both of whom will begin work at Ferrari in the latter part of the year.

Over two years after the introduction of Formula 1’s ground-effect regulations, Mercedes is still battling to regain its competitive edge.

Last October, Mercedes also parted ways with Chief Technical Officer Mike Elliott who had previously swapped positions with now-Technical Director James Allison.

• Read also: Ferrari confirm Serra and d’Ambrosio hires from Mercedes

In response to the news of Vino’s exit, Allison offered a counterpoint, emphasizing that despite recent departures, the team is actively acquiring new technical expertise.

"I don't think there is any point in me offering a commentary on motivation, clearly a team needs to have a critical mass of experienced and good people," Allison told the media in Imola on Friday.

"We would not wish to see experienced and good people leave us, but we are also gathering experienced and good people at a similar rate.

"So I guess it is our job to try and make sure we act in such a way that people would rather be with us than anywhere else."

Despite Allison’s neutral tone, events of late at Mercedes paint a murky picture of what may be going on behind the scenes at the former championship winning outfit.

As Mercedes strives to reclaim its place at the forefront of F1, it will be interesting to see how they address these key departures and navigate this period of transition.

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