Ferrari has blocked the transfer of Enrico Cardile to Aston Martin. At the request of the Italian team, the Modena Court has ordered its former sporting director to cease all collaboration with Aston Martin until next July 18. The Tuscan engineer must respect what is known in Formula One as “gardening leave,” a period of time during which team directors must refrain from working with another team. During this time, they can only dedicate themselves to “gardening.”
Cardile’s involvement with Lawrence Stroll’s team would give them a competitive advantage, violating the non-compete agreement: “The former employee was already violating the non-compete commitment made in favor of Ferrari, which was specifically designed to prevent other F1 teams from hiring Cardile before allowed, thereby gaining an unfair competitive advantage and causing irreparable damage to Ferrari.”
After this ruling by the court, the Italian engineer will not be able to participate in the design of Aston Martin’s 2026 car, which is set to undergo major changes under the new regulations, collaborating with Adrian Newey, who officially joined Aston Martin on Monday, March 3.