Ferrari F1 star announced in MAJOR move to rival team

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc could now be at a disadvantage to Lewis Hamilton

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 20 January 2025 20:00

A Ferrari star has made a major move to a rival F1 team in a recent announcement.

Xavier Marcos Padros, who previously worked as Charles Leclerc's engineer at Ferrari, has been confirmed as Cadillac's new technical director.

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The Spaniard moved away from working within the F1 branch of Ferrari in May 2024, when he was replaced ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by Bryan Bozzi.

Leclerc has continued to thrive in the pinnacle of motorsport with Bozzi as his engineer, finishing third in the 2024 drivers' standings just 18 points between closest rival Lando Norris.

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Leclerc's former F1 engineer makes Cadillac switch

Marcos Padros previously worked as race engineer for the Monegasque driver from 2018 until 2024, but left the role after being assigned to work on other projects for the motorsport giant.

After spending seven seasons in F1, Marcos Padros will make the move to Cadillac to work on their WEC and IMSA SportsCar Championship projects, bidding farewell to Ferrari for good.

His new position falls within the Cadillac V-Series.R programme, which works on the FIA endurance racing series and North American IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Cadillac will also be joining F1 in 2026, and although it was confirmed earlier this year that the team had agreed to buy customer engines and gearboxes from Ferrari until their own versions are ready, it doesn't look like Marcos Padros will be returning to the sport anytime soon.

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari McLaren Lando Norris Charles Leclerc