SA designer back to Ferrari?
2011-09-27 12:21
F1 LEGEND: SA's Rory Byrne could be returning to Formula1.
Legendary South African Formula 1 designer Rory Byrne could be returning to the sport with Ferrari.
That's the claim of two authoritative figures, one of them former team manager Joan Villadelprat who wrote in a column in the Spanish newspaper El Pais that Byrne had decided to return to work with Ferrari.
"Rory Byrne, the brain behind the great Michael Schumacher era, has decided to return to work with Ferrari's new (technical) boss Pat Fry," he wrote.
South African designer Byrne handed over his role to the now-ousted Aldo Costa in 2006, staying as a consultant in recent years before retiring completely.
AS newspaper correspondent Manuel Franco admitted that Ferrari is "determined to deny" news about Byrne.
"Officially the 2012 car has been designed by Nicholas Tombazis, but Byrne has been there," Franco insisted.
Wheels24 caught up with Byrne earlier in 2011: