Ferrari’s technical director, Loïc Serra, detailed his work philosophy in Maranello, emphasizing the importance of a collective approach in the development of a Formula 1 car.
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For the Frenchman, performance cannot be attributed to a single department or person, as the various elements of a car are interdependent.
“Teamwork is what I appreciate most in my job,” summarizes Serra.
Completing the puzzle
A philosophy that is directly reflected in how Ferrari develops its car. The technical director notably refuses to completely separate the different performance areas.
“We do not think only in terms of aerodynamics, suspension, or cooling, but in terms of interaction between the different components,” continues the French engineer. Each development is managed as a team effort. When touching aerodynamics, mechanics must also be involved. Everything is interconnected.”
Serra thus compares the development of an F1 car to a puzzle where each piece must work with the others: “When I am asked which aspects to work on to improve a car, it translates for me into a series of puzzle pieces that must always fit together.”
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A global approach to teamwork
This vision goes beyond the simple technical functioning of the car. Serra also emphasizes the human organization necessary to advance Ferrari and refuses to place successes or failures on a few individuals: “We work, we win, and we lose as a team, which takes precedence over individuality. It would be wrong to attribute a team’s success or failure to a single person.”
The Frenchman rather highlights the daily exchanges between the different engineers and departments in Maranello: “Every day, it is important to consult, propose new ideas, exchange points of view, and then put them into practice. It is the work of a group of people that counts, makes the difference, and makes improvements possible.”
This global approach also influences how Ferrari designs its upgrades. Rather than considering each new part separately, Serra wants to maintain an overall vision of the car: “When we think about a car, we never consider it as a set of parts, but as a whole. For us, it is important to go all the way with developments, to have a wide margin of maneuver, and to bring together people from different backgrounds who bring varied ideas.”
A philosophy that sums up the method Serra seeks to establish at Ferrari: promoting collaboration between the different technical areas so that each upgrade contributes to the overall performance of the car.
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