Before Hamilton, the Italian was also Carlos Sainz\u2019s performance engineer and Charles Leclerc\u2019s driver coach, roles he came to following a stint as a race performance simulation engineer, which saw him prepare car set-up options for Ferrari ahead of each grand prix.<\/p>\n
In a move precipitated by Corte being sidelined from his performance engineering duties at Ferrari after more than a decade in Maranello \u2014 and not a case of the Italian engineer dumping seven-time champion Hamilton \u2014 the Italian engineer has chosen to bring his Formula 1 experience Down Under in a boost to the surging Grove team\u2019s aspirations for 2026, when he will replace McVean as Allen\u2019s race engineer on a long-term contract.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really proud to be joining Grove Racing at such an exciting time for the team,\u201d he said. \u201cThe progress they\u2019ve made in recent seasons is impressive, and the Bathurst 1000 win shows what\u2019s possible with the right people and mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 11 years at Ferrari F1, I\u2019m looking forward to bringing that experience into Supercars, helping the team keep pushing forward and maximising every opportunity on track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team owner Stephen Grove said Corte\u2019s induction was a sign of Grove\u2019s growing stature in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cRiccardo\u2019s appointment represents another major step forward for Grove Racing,\u201d he said. \u201cHis 11 years of experience at Ferrari F1 and his work as Lewis Hamilton\u2019s performance engineer earlier this year bring incredible depth and understanding to our program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to welcome him to the team, and it speaks to the calibre of people we have at Grove Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
PIT TALK PODCAST: Oscar Piastri has lost the title lead for the first time in 15 rounds after a recovery drive from seventh to fifth wasn\u2019t enough to counter a dominant victory by teammate Lando Norris. Where has it gone wrong for the Aussie, and can he fight back from here?<\/p>\n
CEO Brenton Grove said Corte\u2019s engineering background would help take the team\u2019s performance to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cRiccardo\u2019s background at Ferrari gives him a unique perspective on vehicle dynamics, simulation and race-weekend execution at the absolute highest level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis addition to the team allows us to test ourselves against the most sophisticated motorsport category in the world to ensure we remain innovative and at the peak of our game.\u201d<\/p>\n
McVean said he was looking forward to taking on a broader scope as head of performance in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting step to move into this role and continue shaping the engineering direction of Grove Racing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve built strong foundations, and my focus is on refining our tools, processes and people so we can keep lifting our standards and extracting every bit of performance possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEO Grove said McVean\u2019s elevation and Corte\u2019s impending arrival meant the team had the ideal engineering set-up for the coming seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cAl\u2019s technical experience adds an engineering depth that strengthens every part of our program,\u201d he said. \u201cWorking alongside Jack [Bell, Matt Payne\u2019s engineer], Riccardo and the wider engineering group, he\u2019ll help ensure our race engineers have the tools, data, and structure needed for consistent excellence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis role is a key part of building a sustainable, high-performance foundation for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mostert wins Gold Coast 500 clean sweep | 02:46<\/p>\n
The announcement follows news that team principal Cauchi will quit the team at the end of his fourth year at Grove to \u201ctake on a new opportunity\u201d elsewhere in motorsport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past four years with Grove Racing have been some of the most rewarding of my career,\u201d Cauchi said. \u201cTo play a part in the team\u2019s growth and to celebrate a Bathurst win together is something I\u2019ll always be proud of.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a lot of discussion with Steve and Brenton, I feel the timing is right to take on a new opportunity beyond 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team is in a fantastic place and well positioned for the future, and I\u2019m looking forward to finishing the season strongly before starting my next chapter. I\u2019m extremely grateful to the entire Grove family for the trust and support they\u2019ve shown me throughout this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Cauchi\u2019s watch the team has risen to second in the championship standings this year, more than 300 points clear of next-best Tickford Racing in third. It trails Triple Eight by 883 points.<\/p>\n
Both Payne and Allen are in championship contention after finishing inside the top seven following the first round of the finals series in the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Grove Racing has signed former Ferrari lieutenant Riccardo Corte as young gun Kai Allen\u2019s 2026 race engineer in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[151384,2095,64,63,689,2071,151378,4971,2791,18257,36339,13275,151396,151382,30767,151394,151383,151375,151381,2057,817,13213,813,816,2105,2485,841,151390,151385,151387,1737,151395,101818,2184,18896,151389,2041,677,151388,151386,90128,2119,701,31307,151376,151380,146827,151391,22305,151379,85,151377,41547,13773,151392,2062,151393],"class_list":["post-256635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-alistair-mcvean","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-belgium","tag-brenton-grove","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-central-america","tag-championship-contention","tag-championship-standings","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-charles-mostert","tag-david-cauchi","tag-engineering-background","tag-engineering-depth","tag-engineering-direction","tag-engineering-group","tag-engineering-line-up","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-finals-series","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-grand-prix","tag-grove-signs","tag-high-performance-foundation","tag-italian-engineer","tag-lando-norris","tag-luca-diella","tag-matt-payne","tag-mexico","tag-midseason-break","tag-news-principal","tag-north-america","tag-oceania","tag-performance-engineer","tag-performance-engineering-duties","tag-peter-fox","tag-pit-talk","tag-queensland","tag-race-engineer","tag-race-engineers","tag-race-performance-simulation","tag-recovery-drive","tag-riccardo-corte","tag-seven-time-champion","tag-sophisticated-motorsport-category","tag-sports","tag-stephen-grove","tag-team-owner","tag-team-principal","tag-vehicle-dynamics","tag-western-europe","tag-win-shows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}