Ferrari’s new floor lands in Austin. The harder race is for the engineers behind it

For F1 Hiring Managers & Engineers · United States Grand Prix Preview

Ferrari’s new floor lands in Austin. The harder race is for the engineers behind it

Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all bring new parts to the Circuit of the Americas. Every one of them started with an engineer who was not looking for a job.

By Scarlett Warner, Tiro Associates  |  21 October 2026  |  9 minute read

Austin is where Ferrari reportedly brings the biggest aero package of its 2026 season, with a revised floor from the front section through to the diffuser. McLaren and Mercedes bring smaller parts with the same purpose, which is to learn quickly. Behind each one is an aerodynamicist, a CFD engineer or a composite designer who was settled in their seat when the work began. This preview reads the upgrades as a hiring signal and introduces Scarlett Warner, the first person F1 engineers speak to at Tiro.

1. Where the 2026 season stands before Austin

The title picture

Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers championship on 340 points from teammate George Russell on 238. Lewis Hamilton is third on 229 for Ferrari with Max Verstappen fourth on 221 after winning the last two races in Malaysia and Singapore. Charles Leclerc is fifth on 215 and Lando Norris sixth on 201. Antonelli can clinch the title in Austin only by winning the race and only if his nearest rivals finish well down the order.

The fight that shapes upgrade decisions is further down the constructors table. Mercedes lead on 578 with Ferrari second on 444. McLaren are third on 339 and Red Bull fourth on 332, so only seven points separate third from fourth. Red Bull sit 112 behind Ferrari. A weekend with a new floor or a new brake part is a weekend where those places are decided.

2. Ferrari’s biggest upgrade of 2026 is a floor

Aerodynamics

What is reportedly changing

The package is described as Ferrari’s fourth and most significant aerodynamic update of the season. The main target is the floor, revised as a whole system from the front section to the diffuser. The aims reported are more downforce, an aero balance that is still too far forward and a wider operating window so the drivers can run less extreme setups.

The sidepods are refined rather than redesigned, mainly to reduce the drag the SF-26 still suffers from. Louvre changes adapt hot air extraction to the new sidepod shape. Larger cooling openings are reported to follow at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Why a floor is an engineering programme and not a part

Our read is that a floor revision is never one drawing. It moves through CFD to find the idea and the wind tunnel to test it. Track correlation then confirms what the tunnel promised. Each handover needs engineers who understand the surface and the data on either side of it. That is why aero and CFD is the hardest discipline on the grid to hire into quickly. The people with the right experience are in demand and almost never on the market.

What comes after Austin

Reports say this is the last aero package of this scale for the SF-26 and that later development will be limited to circuit specific changes. The 2027 car is reported to carry substantially different aero. For Ferrari and every rival that points the aero departments toward next year. The engineers who delivered this floor are about to be the people every team wants.

3. McLaren and Mercedes bring smaller parts to learn from

Brakes, floors and front wings

McLaren

McLaren bring what chief technical officer Rob Marshall calls “a modest selection of upgrades for this event”. It is a package aimed at braking reliability and performance plus some minor floor changes to test. It builds on the Baku package. Marshall also called Austin “probably a better circuit for our car”. The team will judge the floor changes in Friday practice before it chooses what runs in qualifying and the race.

Mercedes

Mercedes will run its new front wing in a race weekend for the first time. It ran for one hour of first practice in Singapore on Antonelli’s car and was then removed. Deputy technical director Simone Resta described the aim as to “check it, compare with the old one, get the data”. Mercedes had only one example and judged the risk of damage too high to run it in qualifying or the race. The team also wants to extract full performance from its Malaysia upgrade, which it has struggled to exploit over the last two rounds.

Red Bull

We have not seen a confirmed Red Bull package for Austin. What we can say is that the team has recovered strongly since Azerbaijan and that Verstappen has won both of the last two races. A team that has found form without a headline upgrade is a reminder that correlation and setup work count as much as new parts.

4. What Austin tells us about F1 hiring

The hiring signal

Aerodynamics and CFD

A floor from front section to diffuser needs aero surfacing and CFD to create it and wind tunnel and track correlation to prove it. Ferrari are not the only team with this need. Every team with a 2027 car to design wants the same people. Read more on the discipline in our guide to F1 aerodynamics and CFD careers.

Composite design and structures

Mercedes had one front wing and no margin for damage. A part built to a deadline depends on design, layup and manufacture moving as one. That is the work of composite engineers and stress engineers. Read more in our guide to F1 composite design and structures careers.

Performance and race engineering

McLaren will decide what runs on Saturday from what it learns on Friday. Mercedes will use its practice sessions to understand parts it has not yet fully exploited. Both depend on race engineers and performance engineers who can read a Friday correctly. Read more in our guide to F1 performance and race engineering careers.

5. Why talk to an F1 recruiter before you apply

Scarlett’s five reasons

You do not have to be looking

Most of the best seats are never advertised. Teams build their line ups through conversations and many seats are filled before a vacancy exists. We map the grid so we know who is building what and who is leading it. We also know what the culture is really like once the garage doors close.

The engineers we approach are not looking

That is the point. You can be happy in your seat and still want to know what the next great move could be. A conversation with us does not mean you are leaving.

It is confidential

Nothing about you goes to anyone without your say so. In a paddock where everyone knows everyone that is the whole basis of the relationship.

We work with our clients and not their competitors

Once a team engages us we do not run the same brief for a rival. What we bring you is genuine and early.

We profile what moves you

Career and family. Location and ambition. Notice period. The right move fits the whole person and not just the CV.

6. How Tiro manages your F1 career move

From first conversation to first day

This is a career fit and not a spec fit. Here is how it works in practice.

1. A confidential career conversation

No vacancy is needed and no commitment is made. We listen first.

2. We build the full picture

What you love and what you want next. What is still good where you are. Sometimes the honest answer is to stay.

3. We map options by fit and not by badge

Team culture and the scope of the seat. The stability of the programme and the people you would work with. Where you would live.

4. We introduce you properly

With context and preparation and with honest feedback in both directions so every conversation starts from a strong position.

5. We manage the offer and the notice

Package and relocation. Role scope and the start date, planned backwards from the day the team needs you. Notice periods and garden leave are handled from the first conversation and not discovered at the end.

6. We stay with you

From the first day to the first podium and beyond. A career is built over many moves and we plan for the next one as well as this one.

We manage every step from first contact to first day. We do not rely on hope.

7. Your first point of contact: Scarlett Warner

A technical conversation with real support

Scarlett Warner is Tiro’s first point of contact for F1 and WEC engineers. She started at Tiro as an apprentice and now leads the first point of contact for motorsport careers. Engineers deal with her directly from first call to first day.

She balances the technical conversation with genuine support, so the move you make fits your career and your life goals as well as the car. Scarlett works across the F1 disciplines in the hiring focus above and the guides linked in the next section.

What engineers say about working with Scarlett

“Scarlett contacted me for a position that has ended up being my current role in F1. She was very helpful along the process, always being super supportive and giving incredibly helpful insights and advice on things related to the position and the relevant changes in the personal life that comes with relocating to another country. Very grateful for her work.”
Stress Engineer

“Scarlett contacted me to discuss a position which ended up being my new job. Her dedication and perseverance are unparalleled and her help throughout the interview process was invaluable. She is a highly skilled headhunter. I was lucky to be contacted by her in the first place.”
Software Engineer

Recommendations from engineers Scarlett has worked with. Read them in full on Scarlett’s LinkedIn profile.

8. Sector expertise: careers and hiring across F1

Where to read next

For more on careers and hiring in F1 start with the overview of the key disciplines Scarlett works across then choose your own discipline.

• Overview: Tiro headhunting in F1, securing the talent behind a podium winning team
• Tiro sector focus: F1 headhunting
• Supercar and motorsport sector
• F1 aerodynamics and CFD careers
• F1 composite design and structures careers
• F1 performance and race engineering careers
• F1 power unit, battery and controls careers
• F1 software, AI, ML and .NET careers

This preview is based on the 2026 drivers and constructors standings following the Singapore Grand Prix and on publicly reported upgrade plans and team comments made ahead of the United States Grand Prix weekend of 23 to 25 October 2026. Reported plans can change before the cars run, so every conversation starts from where things stand today.

Tiro frequently asked questions: F1 engineer career moves

Who will I speak to at Tiro?

Scarlett Warner is our first point of contact for F1 and WEC engineers. She started at Tiro as an apprentice and now leads motorsport careers conversations. You deal with her directly from first call to first day. Hiring teams speak to Phil Bowers, our hiring strategist.

Do I need to be actively looking to talk to you?

No. Most of the engineers we speak to are not looking. They are busy and often happy. A conversation is a way to understand your options before you need them.

Is everything confidential?

Yes. Your name and your CV and the fact that we have spoken stay with us until you give explicit permission. We never put you forward to a team without your agreement.

What happens in a first conversation?

An informal call or video chat about where you are now and what you enjoy. We talk about what you want next and what would have to be true for you to consider a move. We share honestly what we are seeing in the market. You do not need a polished CV to start and nothing is committed.

What about notice periods and garden leave?

In motorsport they can run to several months. That is why we plan backwards from the date a team needs you and raise it in the first conversation and not at offer stage.

What if the right answer is to stay where I am?

Then we say so. Some of the best conversations end with clarity that your current seat is the right one. That is a good outcome and we will still be here when things change.

How does Tiro help an F1 team hire for a critical role?

We map where the capability sits across the grid before any approach is made. We approach the right engineers directly and confidentially and manage every step from first contact to first day. Every search starts with a vacancy risk report that puts a figure on leaving the seat empty. Hiring teams start with Phil Bowers.

For F1 Hiring Managers & Engineers  |  United States Grand Prix Preview, 21 October 2026  |  recruit@tiroassociates.com  |  Phone 44 1277 354469