Lotus signs Ferrari aero chief

Lotus has moved to boost its technical department in the wake of recent departures by signing Ferrari's chief aerodynamicist Nicolas Hennel.

Amid of spate of personnel moves from Lotus to Ferrari with James Allison, Kimi Raikkonen and Dirk de Beer all moving to Maranello Lotus has convinced Hennel to move in the opposite direction.

Hennel had been at Ferrari for just over a year, having had previous spells at McLaren and Renault.

Lotus has not officially announced the signing of Hennel, but sources said that he will start work there next month so as to be able to focus straightaway on the 2014 car.

Hennel is not the only senior member of Ferrari technical staff set to move, with Felipe Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley expected to join Williams for 2014.