Aston Martin has confirmed that former Ferrari chassis technical director, Enrico Cardile has officially come in from his garden to join the team.

Along with Adrian Newey and Andy Cowell, Cardile was one of the major signings announced last year as the Silverstone-based outfit prepared to take the next significant step forward.

However, Ferrari went to court in Modena in March this year, where it was ruled Cardile could not begin work with Aston Martin until July, the Italian team claiming that its former employee was "already violating the non-compete commitment with Ferrari".

This referred to a clause in his contract which was included "precisely to prevent other F1 teams from gaining an unjustified competitive advantage by hiring Cardile earlier than allowed, causing irreparable harm to Ferrari".

The first sign of an issue was on 11 April last year, when Ferrari announced that Cardile was leaving with immediate effect. Just under twenty-four hours later, Aston Martin announced that it had secured the services of the Italian.

"I am delighted to welcome Enrico to Aston Martin," said (then) team boss Mike Krack. "Enrico has nearly 20 years of experience at Ferrari and will offer a fresh perspective to our technical strategy. This is a key appointment for the team as we build towards the new 2026 regulations - an important next step on our journey."

"I'm looking forward to joining Aston Martin," added Cardile. "The ambition and desire are clear and it is a unique opportunity to be part of that journey. This is a personal and professional challenge and I look forward to working with the team to bring success to this iconic brand."

Confirming that Cardile is now fully on board, an Aston Martin spokesperson said: "We are pleased that a resolution has been found and that Enrico can move forward with the team as we look to 2026 and beyond as our chief technical officer, leading our design and technical functions at the AMR Technology Campus."

The news comes as the team appears to have taken a step forward on track, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both scoring significant points on Sunday.

Much is expected of the team in 2026, for along with Newey, Cowell and Cardile, the team has an exclusive works deal with Honda and its new state-of-the art facility in Silverstone.