Alfa F1 designer Furbatto moves to Aston Martin

Furbatto is the first high profile hire as the Silverstone team add to its established technical strength.

The Italian reports to Andrew Green, whose job title has been changed from technical director to chief technical officer.

“By working with our existing engineering group, he will bring valuable perspective and knowledge to help shape our approach in the short and medium term,” said team boss Otmar Szafnauer about Furbatto.

“This appointment coincides with Andrew Green, who will take on a new role where he will have a global perspective on the company’s medium to long-term technical strategy.”

Furbatto has worked for a variety of teams over the past two decades.

A graduate of the University of Turin, he worked as an engineer in the creation of British American Racing from 1998-99. Then in 2000 he spent a year with the emerging Toyota F1 team.

In 2001 he moved to McLaren, initially as Head of Stress Analysis. In 2004 he became head of structural design and was most recently project manager for F1 cars in 2009/11.

Beat Zehnder, Sauber Manager, Frederic Vasseur, Sauber, Team Principal and Luca Furbatto, Sauber Chief Designer celebrate

Photo by: Sutton Images

After positions as chief designer at Toro Rosso and Manor Racing, he moved to Sauber in the same role in 2017.

“It’s a project that has all the ingredients for success,” said Furbatto of his new team. “Dedicated leadership, talented people and new investments in resources.

“I look forward to doing my part to establish this team at the forefront of the sport.”

Green emphasized that there will be more hires as the team expands.

“[Luca] brings a huge amount of experience gained from over two decades in the sport with several leading F1 teams, ”he noted.

“This is the first of many important appointments we are making in line with our drive to put Aston Martin at the top of the grid.”

Aston’s announcement revealed that Furbatto’s role will include both track and factory operations, and he is slated to join the team “before the 2022 season”.