For the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc will be assigned a fresh F1 race engineer.
Ferrari has confirmed that Charles Leclerc’s race engineer has been replaced ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Scuderia has reassigned Xavier Marcos Padros, Charles Leclerc’s long-time race engineer, to new projects within the company, leaving Leclerc without him at Imola.
Ferrari assigns new race engineer to Charles Leclerc
Bryan Bozzi has been confirmed by Ferrari as Marcos’ replacement.
Bozzi, who is currently serving as Leclerc’s performance engineer, will transition to the role of Leclerc’s race engineer starting from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Ferrari took to social media to officially announce the personnel change on Leclerc’s side of the garage in a concise statement.
“Scuderia Ferrari HP announces that Bryan Bozzi, who has worked in the team for ten years, currently as Performance Engineer to Charles Leclerc, will now take on the role of his Race Engineer from next weekend’s Gran Premio del Made in Italy and dell’Emilia-Romagna at Imola,” read the statement, with Ferrari also confirming the fate of Xavi Marcos.
“As of Monday 13 May, Xavi Marcos will bring his valuable experience gained as a race engineer with the Formula 1 team to the development of other important company programmes.”
Throughout Leclerc’s entire tenure with Ferrari, Marcos Podras has served as his race engineer. Prior to this, Podras worked in NASCAR from 2015 to 2018 and was previously Felipe Massa’s race engineer at Williams.
Due to his famous radio messages constantly reassuring his driver with the phrase “We are checking…”, the Spaniard has become quite a celebrity in his own regard. Moreover, he has been responsible for overseeing all five of Leclerc’s victories in the Grand Prix, further adding to his reputation.
Leclerc expressed his gratitude and paid tribute to his race engineer who was leaving, posting on social media to acknowledge the accomplishments they have achieved as a team.
“Grazie mille di tutto Xavi,” he wrote.
“So many years working together, my first pole, my first win as well as my first year in Ferrari was alongside you and you always got the better out of me by pushing so hard no matter the situation we were in.
“Thank you for everything and good luck for your new adventures in the future.”
More on the latest Ferrari F1 news
‘He won’t work anywhere to help Lewis Hamilton’ – Ferrari ruled out for Adrian Newey by leading pundit
Red Bull domination over? Ferrari tease new F1 reality with ‘no more comfort zone’
Who is Bryan Bozzi?
Bryan Bozzi, Leclerc’s new race engineer, joined Ferrari in 2012. After completing his studies in mechanical engineering in the UK, Bozzi initially worked as a wind tunnel research and development engineer for Ferrari. By the end of 2014, he transitioned to the role of an aero track group engineer.
In late 2018, he transitioned to the field of race engineering and was designated to join Marcos Padros in working on Leclerc’s side of the garage in 2019. This new role as Leclerc’s race engineer provides him with his initial experience as a driver’s primary assistant.
The role of race engineers is pivotal in unleashing the full potential of their drivers. They serve as the guiding voices over the radio, providing motivation, explanations, and encouragement. Notably, there are experienced race engineers like Gianpiero Lambiase, who fearlessly exchanges banter with Max Verstappen during team radio communications, and Pete Bonnington, known for his close friendship with Lewis Hamilton, both of whom have overseen the success of world champions on the grid.
Valtteri Bottas is currently not the sole driver adapting to a new race engineer, as he was recently assigned a new one. Previously collaborating with Alex Chan since his entry into Sauber in early 2022, Bottas made his presence known in Miami to commence his partnership with Steven Petrik. This transition in personnel is part of the Hinwil-based team’s preparations for the imminent arrival of Audi.
Read Next: Red Bull domination over? Ferrari tease new F1 reality with ‘no more comfort zone’
