Mercedes may have made it even harder for Lewis Hamilton to claim an unprecedented eighth world championship title, when he joins Ferrari in 2025.
Hamilton shocked the Formula 1 paddock when he announced that he would be making the stunning switch to Maranello in 2025, ditching the team that have helped him win six of his seven world championships.
While the driver market has been sent into somewhat of a frenzy by the move, so has the rumours surrounding a variety of staff members, with a test of loyalty to Mercedes or Hamilton likely to be the option for many key figures.
However, in an unexpected move, it's been reported that Mercedes have poached two senior figures away from Ferrari, as they hope to get themselves back into contention for world championship titles.
Mercedes poach Ferrari staff in dent to Hamilton hopes
Autosport are reporting that Ferrari's former chief designer, Simone Resta, has agreed a deal to become strategic development director at Mercedes, working alongside James Allison.
On top of this, Enrico Sampo is believed to be joining the Brackley-based outfit as head of performance software applications.
It has already been all-but confirmed that Hamilton will be heading to Ferrari without his race engineer and long-time friend Peter 'Bono' Bonnington, who is very likely to be staying put at Mercedes.
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft recently said that he believed Hamilton should be working hard to try and persuade fellow Brit and Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey to follow him to Ferrari, particularly with the ongoing saga at Red Bull.