Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 F1 title target strengthened as Ferrari poach two Mercedes executives
Ferrari have announced the arrival of two key Mercedes personnel – engineer Loic Serra and executive Jerome d’Ambrosio – later this year.
The duo will join on 1 October and will help spearhead Lewis Hamilton’s quest to win a world title with the Scuderia, with the Brit also joining Ferrari from Mercedes in 2025.
Serra, the current Mercedes performance director, will take on the role of “Head of Chassis Performance Engineering” at Ferrari. He has previously worked for Michelin and BMW-Sauber.
Former driver D’Ambrosio raced 20 times in F1 from 2011-2012 and was Toto Wolff’s right-hand man at Mercedes.
He will join as deputy team principal, working alongside team principal Fred Vasseur, as well as head of the Ferrari Driver Academy which boasts the likes of British teen Ollie Bearman.
A Ferrari statement read: “Scuderia Ferrari HP is pleased to announce it is further strengthening the team with the arrival of Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio, both coming from the Mercedes AMG F1 team.
“Loic Serra and Jerome d’Ambrosio will both start working with Scuderia Ferrari HP on 1st October.”
It is the second key change at Ferrari in a matter of days, with Charles Leclerc changing his race engineer ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari next year, joining Leclerc in Maranello.
Hamilton has not won a race since December 2021 amid Mercedes’ rapid downturn in form since new regulations were introduced in 2022.
The 39-year-old has raced with Mercedes since 2013 and has won six of his seven world titles with the Silver Arrows. He made his debut with McLaren in 2007, securing his first world title a year later.
Wolff, meanwhile, is yet to decide who he wants to replace Hamilton next year. The likes of Sainz, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli have all been linked with teaming up with George Russell in 2025.
