As expected, the departure of Slappy Schumacher was just the first part of the exodus at The House of the Mincing Pony. EVERY major figure in the domination of F1 by Ferrari has either left the team or has been booted upstairs.

Slappy, of course, has retired (rumors of him driving the two NASCAR road races in 2007 notwithstanding).

Jean Todt, he of the sweaters in 100 degree temps and bandaids on his fingertips, will leave the pit wall and become the team's Chief Executive Officer.

Ross Brawn, the team's hulking Technical Director, has left the team for a year long sabbatical.

Paolo Martinelli, head of the team's Engine Department, is taking a position higher-up in the Fiat Empire.

Mario Almondo, the man in charge of Ferrari's F1 development (a cross between chassis design, engine design oversight and whole car construction), is moving into the Technical Director slot.

Gilles Simon, the designer of the Ferrari V10 engine, takes over the Engine department, and Aldo Costa the Chassis department.

Basically, their entire F1 team (save the pit crew, Felipe Massa, and their testing group) will be different for 2007, and one suspects that it will NOT be for the better.

All because of Slappy.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 06:37 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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