Costa and Willis join Mercedes' technical staff

Aldo Costa left Ferrari earlier this year © Getty Images

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Ex-technical directors from Ferrari and HRT will join Mercedes later this year in order to bolster the team's technical staff.

Aldo Costa, who parted ways with Ferrari earlier this year, and Geoff Willis, who has been working at HRT since 2010, will join the team led by Ross Brawn to work under technical director Bob Bell. Costa, who will join at the start of December as Mercedes' engineering director, has worked with Brawn before during Ferrari's multiple-championship winning years in the early 2000s and Willis, who will join on October 17 as technology director, worked at the Brackley-based team when it was under running under the BAR name.

Costa will be responsible for design and development and Willis will head the aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, control systems and simulation functions.

"I am delighted to announce that Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis will be joining the Mercedes GP Petronas team," Ross Brawn said. "Geoff is a highly respected engineer with over twenty years of Formula One experience, and we look forward to his arrival next month. Having worked closely with Aldo for many years, I know that he will bring dedication and championship-winning expertise to the team when he joins in December.

"Building a winning team is an exciting challenge for us all as we work towards the competitiveness and standards that we aspire to as the Mercedes-Benz works team. With a strong technical structure led by Bob Bell, we are moving ourselves into the best possible position to achieve our ambitions."

Mercedes motorsport vice president Norbert Haug is confident the new arrivals will boost the team's competitiveness after two years off the pace of the front runners.

"Since Mercedes GP Petronas was formed as a new team in early 2010, we have been putting in place the building blocks for success," Haug said. "Our technical organisation was strengthened by the arrival of Bob Bell and, working closely with Ross, he has identified the areas where we can improve still further.

"Aldo and Geoff will reinforce our technical management and bring the experience required to harness the talents of our people in Brackley; we have also recruited and invested at other levels in order to maximise our competitiveness under the Resource Restriction Agreement. Our goal remains to progress step by step in order to establish ourselves as a front-running team for the long term, in line with the tradition of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows."

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