Ferrari poach key F1 staff member from Aston Martin

Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Ferrari poach key F1 staff member from Aston Martin

The British Grand Prix was his last with Aston Martin before the Ferrari move

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 2 August 2026 08:29

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Ferrari have poached an engineer from their struggling F1 rivals Aston Martin.

The two teams could barely have had a more contrasting start to 2026. Ferrari have made full use of the 2026 regulation changes to completely turn around their form compared to the 2025 season. They are in the hunt for both the constructors' and drivers' championships after securing two grand prix wins and seven further podiums from the opening 11 grand prix weekends.

Aston Martin, on the other hand, have struggled with both reliability and performance issues in 2026, only picking up one point and sitting down in 10th in the constructors' championship.

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Their team of designers and engineers are working hard to turn around the season, with the Silverstone-based outfit having managed to bring 16 upgrades to their 2026 chassis at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

That has helped somewhat, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finishing 13th and 14th respectively at the Hungaroring, and there are more upgrades to come, both on the chassis and power unit side of things.

But as they attempt to get closer to the likes of Ferrari over the coming seasons, Aston Martin have lost one of their engineers to the Scuderia.

Former Aston Martin stress engineer Carlos Sanchez Martinez is now working with Ferrari, with the British Grand Prix having been his last race with Aston Martin.

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Carlos Sanchez Martinez switches teams

Sanchez Martinez initially joined Aston Martin when they were called Racing Point back in 2019, and was a junior stress engineer.

He was promoted in 2022 to stress engineer, but his role with Ferrari is a step up once again.

Sanchez Martinez started work in July 2026 as a chassis stress engineering specialist with Ferrari, as the Maranello-based outfit attempt to become world champions for the first time since 2008.

"After almost eight years, the Silverstone Grand Prix marked my last race weekend with the Aston Martin F1 Team (Racing Point when I joined)," Sanchez Martinez revealed on LinkedIn.

"It has been an absolutely incredible period of my life, shared with amazing people and some of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. Together, we celebrated many podiums, a victory, and a pole position.

"When I joined the team, I thought the most exciting part of this journey would be the work itself. Over time, I realised that the most rewarding part has been sharing the experience with my team-mates and pushing forward together through both the good times and the challenging ones.

"I have been incredibly fortunate to share this adventure with outstanding colleagues and exceptionally talented people, from whom I have learned so much over the years.

"I am truly grateful for this chapter of my life in green. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey.

"Now it is time for a new challenge in F1, a new team, and new colours."