» Ferrari and Lotus swap aero leads

Ferrari seems to be making a habit of poaching the key talent from the Lotus F1 team, with news today that the Enstone outfit’s head of aerodynamics, Dirk de Beer, will be moving to Maranello.

The South African-born aerodynamicist has been a part of the Lotus F1 team’s operations for a number of years after an earlier stint with Sauber, and his new deal with Ferrari – while yet to be officially confirmed – will see him reunite with James Allison, who recently returned to Ferrari after serving as the Technical Director of Lotus.

Allison’s new role with Ferrari is that of the Chassis Technical Director, and it is believed that de Beer will work alongside the team’s current aero head, Frenchman Loïc Bigois.

On top of Kimi Räikkönen’s return to Ferrari, the Italian outfit has now managed to sign three key figures from Lotus’ ranks in recent months, although the Enstone team has perhaps claimed a small victory with its own signing of leading Ferrari aerodynamicst, Nicolas Hennel de Beaupreau.