Ferrari and Red Bull, amongst others, have made changes to their communications department structures ahead of the F1 2025 season.

After seven years in charge of Ferrari’s F1 communications, Silvia Hoffer Frangipane will move to a new role within the organisation, while Red Bull has replaced the departed Paul Smith.

Ferrari makes a change to communications team

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The communications departments at each F1 team play a critical background role in the sport, dealing with media enquiries and shaping the public-facing image of their teams, becoming the hidden backbone of F1.

Ferrari has confirmed that Silvia Hoffer Frangipane has left her role, where she served as the F1 team’s head of PR and media. She will take up a new role within Ferrari‘s corporate communications team, which is not yet defined.

Frangipane oversaw Ferrari’s communications strategy since early 2019, having joined the Scuderia from McLaren. She worked as McLaren’s press office manager between 2010 and ’19, and has also put in long tenures with Williams and Minardi during an F1 career that stems back to 1997.

Taking Frangipane’s place at the top of Ferrari’s F1 communications, in an interim capacity, is Maria Conti.

Conti joined Ferrari in November 2025, appointed as chief communications officer for the brand, reporting directly to CEO Benedetto Vigna, and joining Ferrari’s leadership team.

Her experience includes recent roles as head of Maserati Corse and Maserati, as well as tenures at Alfa Romeo, BMW, and Mini, during a career of over two decades.

“Joining Ferrari is an honour and a big responsibility,” she said in November.

“Ferrari represents excellence, passion, and the pursuit of progress. The uniqueness of the brand is reflected in its communications.

“I believe in an integrated approach that blends tradition with innovation, consistently and authentically putting across the values and spirit that make Ferrari one of a kind. Together, we will continue to share Ferrari’s uniqueness with passion and vision.”

More on F1 communications departments

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Former Ferrari chief takes up new role at McLaren in key appointment

Red Bull appoints a replacement as head of communications

Red Bull has also appointed a new person to lead its communications department, with Benjamin Ippoliti taking on the role of director of communications, reporting directly to Laurent Mekies.

Ippoliti’s background has been Red Bull-associated for the last decade, working with Red Bull GmbH CEO Oliver Mintzlaff at football club RB Leipzig between 2015 and ’20, before moving to work with Red Bull directly in Austria.

Most recently, he worked as global head of marketing and communications corporate projects at the company’s Salzburg headquarters.

Ippoliti replaces the former group director of communications, Paul Smith, who was let go by Red Bull at the same time as team principal and CEO Christian Horner in July 2025.

More communications team changes across the grid

Other changes up and down the grid include a change of communications leadership at Racing Bulls, where long-time head of communications Fabiana Valenti, whose career at Faenza stems back to its days as Minardi, has moved to a factory-based corporate communications role.

In her place is Alexandra Horton, who has stepped up from senior communications manager at the squad.

“Looking forward to continuing to lead Communications for a team that’s gone from an unknown, unestablished brand to one of Formula 1’s most respected and loved teams for younger audiences,” she said.

“I’m incredibly proud of what this team has delivered in a year that threw us more than a few curveballs. 

“If 2025 taught me anything, it’s that having the right people around you allows you to conquer anything, and I’m so grateful to work with a team that trusts, challenges, and inspires each other every day.”

At Williams, Rebecca Banks has moved on from leading the team’s F1 communications, having moved into the role in early 2022. Williams’ F1 communications will now be led by Dominique-Heyer Wright, reporting to group head of communications Craig Woodhouse.

Sauber’s chief communications officer, Florian Buengener, has also left his role, citing personal reasons. An update to the department is expected, but the department is currently being led by Will Ponissi, a long-time senior communications manager with the Hinwil-based squad, who became the team’s head of corporate and race communications in mid-2025.

Buengener’s departure follows shortly after Audi’s communications director, Guido Stalmann, left the team in September 2025.

At Haas, the growth of the American team has seen Jessica Borrell step up from senior communications manager to become head of F1 communications, having been with the team since 2021.

She will report to the director of communications, Stuart Morrison, with further appointments to the department expected.

All of these changes come shortly after McLaren announced the arrival of former Ferrari and Pirelli communications chief Luca Colajanni to replace the departing Sophie Ogg.

The moves mean that the longest-serving communications chief in Formula 1 is now Mercedes’ Bradley Lord, who has been with the German marque since February 2011 – Lord has since become the team’s chief communications officer and team representative under Toto Wolff.

Just a few months behind him in longevity is Will Hings of Aston Martin, head of media and communications, who joined the then-Force India squad in April 2011, working alongside chief communications officer Luke Skipper, Atkinson’s replacement at the Silverstone-based squad.

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