Aston Martin has finally got hold of its new Formula 1 chief technical officer Enrico Cardile, The Race has learned, after resolving a long-running legal matter with rival Ferrari.
Cardile, a former Ferrari chassis technical director, was announced as a major Aston Martin signing more than 12 months ago.
While no formal start date was ever revealed, it had been anticipated that he would start work at some point in 2025 once his period of gardening leave was over.
However, matters took an intriguing twist earlier this year when it emerged that Ferrari had taken court action in Italy to stop Cardile working earlier than allowed.
The team said that it had been forced to go legal because it found out that Cardile had already started collaborating with Aston Martin before he was supposed to.
A court in Modena upheld Ferrari's request that Cardile cease all links with Aston Martin until the end of his contract.
In a statement issued back in March the team said: "Ferrari clarifies that a few weeks ago the Court of Modena, upholding the requests of the company, ordered Enrico Cardile to immediately cease any form of collaboration with Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team until next July 18.
"In this urgent procedural phase, the Court of Modena found that our former employee was already violating the non-compete commitment with Ferrari, whose purpose was precisely to prevent other F1 teams from gaining an unjustified competitive advantage by hiring Cardile earlier than allowed, causing irreparable harm to Ferrari."
The ruling effectively forced Cardile onto gardening leave for an unspecified period of time, but it has emerged that the way has now been cleared for him to formally start.
Ahead of F1's summer shutdown, Cardile has finally begun work at Aston Martin's Silverstone campus to help contribute to the team's 2026 car.
An Aston Martin spokesperson said: "We are pleased that a resolution has been found and that Enrico can move forward with the team as we look to 2026 and beyond as our chief technical officer, leading our design and technical functions at the AMR Technology Campus."
Cardile will work alongside managing technical partner Adrian Newey as they attempt to push Aston Martin to the front of the F1 grid at the start of F1's new rules era in 2026.
