Turnstiles to keep turning amid Ferrari shakeup

With Aldo Costa now gone, attention is turning to who will follow him through the turnstiles at Maranello as Ferrari restructures for a more “aggressive” approach to 2012.

La Gazzetta dello Sport said the spotlight is on designer Nikolas Tombazis, even though team boss Stefano Domenicali on Friday said the Greek designer “will be responsible for the aerodynamic development and must try to come up with a winning project”.

Domenicali, however, acknowledged that his own head might roll.

“But I’m not at all worried as I know the rules of the game,” said the Italian.  “First of all it’s someone above me who must answer this.

“Of course, I am responsible and I will try to solve things as much as I can, but if things are not going well it’s normal the leader has to, let’s say, pay for it.”

Also under pressure is Felipe Massa: “Our priority is to give him a competitive car and I think that the decisions taken will help him get going again,” said Domenicali.

But the biggest problem at Ferrari at present is the aerodynamic side, with Domenicali admitting that “We ought to make some important interventions to improve that”.

Now in Costa’s hot seat is Briton and former McLaren man Pat Fry, but when told he is now leading the 2012 project, Red Bull’s Adrian Newey admitted he finds the appointment “strange”.

Auto Motor und Sport mentioned rumours that Renault’s Tim Densham, or Williams’ recently ousted Jon Tomlinson, and a group of Fry’s former McLaren colleagues, are possible new arrivals at Ferrari.

And Brazilian reports hinted at Red Bull’s Rob Marshall and Peter Prodromou.

© RIF | GMM