MAY 12, 2007

Staff changes down Maranello way

The word in the F1 paddock in Barcelona is that there are to be some fairly major changes in the aerodynamic team at Maranello in the next few months with two aerodynamicists on their way to McLaren and the team's chief aerodynamicist John Iley rumoured to be on the move as well.

Iley has been at Ferrari since 2004, having previously worked at Renault (2002-2003) and Jordan (1995-2001). At both teams he worked with Mike Gascoyne.

A shake-up has been expected at Maranello for some time following the return to Italy of Nick Tombazis last year. Tombazis started his career at Benetton and then went to Ferrari between 1998 and 2003 before moving to McLaren to be in charge of aerodynamic development, being replaced by Iley. With Tombazis returning, it seems that Iley will now be heading home to the UK - although there is no clear sign with which team he might end up.