Formula 1 News: Haas technical director Simone Resta quits (Update)
Former Haas technical director Simone Resta may be gearing up for a return to the sport, potentially joining the AlphaTauri team for the 2024 season.
Following Resta’s departure, Motorsport.com has reported that the Italian engineer could now be making a move to AlphaTauri under the new leadership of Laurent Mekies.
Haas F1 team Technical Director Simone Resta has reportedly resigned following two disappointing seasons for the American outfit.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Resta’s design team was unable to engineer out the severe tire degradation the car suffered during a race. So whether he resigned, or was forced out, remains to be seen.
According to Motorsport_IT, Resta disagreed with owner Gene Haas about development. A lack of “motivation” is also cited as a reason behind the decision.
The 53-year-old Italian is likely to either return to Ferrari or take up an offer from Sauber, where he has “several admirers”, according to Motorsport, who also report that Resta disagreed with the development approach pushed by team owner Gene Haas.
Resta joined Haas for the 2021 season as part of a closer technical relationship between Haas and Ferrari and led the design of the American outfit’s cars for the following two seasons.
He previously worked at Scuderia Ferrari from 2001 to 2018, and from 2019 to 2020, as a senior design engineer, head of the R&D department, deputy chief design director and from 2014 to 2018, as Chief Designer.
But Haas endured a miserable 2023 season, finishing rock bottom of the constructors’ championship after scoring just 12 points in 22 races, so as expected, heads had to roll.