Ferrari loses key ICE engineer to German rival

From Maranello to Neuburg: Audi has secured Lars Schmidt, one of many key figures in Ferrari’s ICE improvement. The 4 Rings can now profit from the know-how of a direct competitor.

The transfer had been anticipated for months, with paddock rumors and behind-the-scenes exercise within the energy unit sector. Now it’s official: Lars Schmidt leaves Scuderia Ferrari to change into Head of ICE at Audi Revolut F1 Crew, a central piece of the German producer’s plan underneath the brand new regulatory cycle.

This information, past the formality of the LinkedIn announcement, impacts a strategic technical space. Schmidt was a key reference within the improvement of Ferrari’s 2026 V6 structure, working intently with Wolf Zimmermann and Enrico Gualtieri on the conceptual and efficiency foundations of the inner combustion engine, which confirmed promising outcomes when it comes to effectivity and drivability throughout the Barcelona and Bahrain assessments. Above all, it confirmed strong reliability.

Lars Schmidt – a profile constructed within the coronary heart of contemporary energy models

Schmidt’s profession displays his affect and experience. At Ferrari, he spent 9 years and 7 months, navigating a number of technical and regulatory phases. From June 2016 to November 2017, he served as Trackside Engineer, experiencing firsthand the interplay between check benches and monitor, together with engine mapping, power restoration, and thermal stress administration.

He then grew to become Crew Chief Efficiency Growth ICE (November 2017 – September 2021), earlier than taking the position of Technical Lead Efficiency Growth ICE from 2021 till December 2025, when he parted methods with the workforce. This was an important position throughout a regulatory transition, the place he labored on combustion, engine structure, and hybrid integration methods for 2026.

Earlier than Ferrari, Schmidt spent 4 years at Mercedes AMG Excessive Efficiency Powertrains, the nerve middle of the dominant hybrid period. Between 2012 and 2013, he was Efficiency Growth Engineer, then Energy Unit Efficiency Engineer Trackside from 2014 to 2015, throughout Mercedes’ technical ascendancy. This formative interval positioned him firmly throughout the small group of European specialists in high-efficiency combustion.

Lars Schmidt – a serious asset for Audi

Schmidt is now formally Head of ICE at Audi, straight answerable for growing the inner combustion engine underneath the brand new laws. For a producer constructing an influence unit construction from scratch, this can be a top-tier addition.

Audi has medium- to long-term ambitions and is aware of the 2026 competitors will give attention to three pillars: thermal effectivity, integration with the electrical element, and reliability underneath high-energy stress. Having an engineer on the high who helped outline Ferrari’s 2026 V6 conceptual base supplies a transparent aggressive benefit.

It’s no secret that this transfer can be considered strategically throughout the paddock: Schmidt brings know-how, improvement methodologies, bench validation fashions, and perception gained inside a corporation that has profoundly redefined its engine philosophy lately. That is much less about “secrets and techniques” and extra about technical tradition and processes, the place actual variations are made.

Ferrari reorganizes the ability unit division

At Maranello, Schmidt’s departure—along with Zimmermann’s—prompted an inner reorganization. The technique is twofold: to boost current inner sources and combine exterior experience, notably from engineers who left Renault Motorsport’s Viry-Chatillon energy unit division, now defunct underneath the French undertaking redefinition.

This method balances continuity with contemporary experience, aiming to protect the work laid down on the 2026 V6. Check outcomes from Barcelona and Bahrain confirmed a aggressive unit when it comes to energy supply and effectivity, however most notably reliability. Testing continues to be ongoing, and technical stability will stay essential all through the 2026–2030 regulatory cycle, which incorporates potential corrections by way of the ADUO system.

Audi: the Ferrari trio driving development

Schmidt’s transfer suits right into a broader development of mobility inside energy unit departments, now a discipline of business competitors in addition to sporting rivalry. Underneath the brand new laws, the ICE—although much less dominant in absolute energy than up to now—stays central for total power administration.

For Audi, securing an engineer with expertise in two of probably the most profitable hybrid-era energy models accelerates their studying curve. For Ferrari, the problem is proving that the 2026 undertaking doesn’t depend on particular person figures, however on a strong technical system. On this case, the engineer market reveals strategic imaginative and prescient behind each rent. Audi has invested closely in three former Ferrari engineers: Lars Schmidt, Wolff Zimmermann, and Mattia Binotto, who additionally comes from Maranello’s powertrain division.

That is clear proof that the Scuderia Ferrari is perceived as an engineering benchmark even by a serious industrial group like Audi.

Feb 15, 2026Elena Rossi

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