Scuderia Ferrari has made a surprising and significant decision ahead of the following Formula 1 race, the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will be supported by a different race engineer on the communication lines as he navigates the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the upcoming race.

Bryan Bozzi will assume the role of the 26-year-old driver's race engineer, taking over from Xavi Marcos, who has been paired with Leclerc since the driver arrived at the Prancing Horse team in 2019.

A native of Italy, Bozzi has been an integral part of Ferrari since 2012 and has played a pivotal role within the race engineering team since 2018.

Bozzi is currently serving as Leclerc's performance engineer. He graduated in mechanical engineering from the University of Bath in England and brings with him a wealth of technical experience.

He previously held roles as an R&D engineer and Aero Track Group Engineer in the team's Maranello factory before assuming his current position as Leclerc's performance engineer.

Charles Leclerc's outgoing race engineer to be shifted to new role

Meanwhile, Leclerc's outgoing race engineer, Xavi Marcos, will not be entirely departing from the team.

Scuderia Ferrari released a statement confirming that the Spanish engineer "will bring his valuable experience gained as a race engineer with the Formula 1 team to develop other important company programmes," effective Monday, May 13.

The 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is scheduled for next Sunday, May 19, at Imola Circuit in Italy.