Ferrari
By the conclusion of the 1996 season Michael Schumacher was being given free rein at Ferrari to build a team of engineers capable of returning the team to the top of the sport after years of underperforming. Benetton technical director Ross Brawn was hired and Ferrari approached Rory Byrne to replace the team's existing chief designer John Barnard who refused to re-locate to Italy. After long negotiations Byrne was lured from his retirement in Thailand back to Europe where he began building a design office at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters. By 2000 Ferrari were finally ready to challenge for the title and continued to build momentum in the following seasons. By the end of the 2004 season, Byrne-designed Ferraris had secured 71 race victories, six consecutive constructors titles and five consecutive drivers titles for Michael Schumacher with a sustained level of dominance never before seen in the sport.
In 2004 Rory Byrne announced that he would be retiring from Formula One at the end of the 2006 season, handing over the role of chief designer to Aldo Costa, his assistant since 1998. On September 19, 2006, it was announced that Rory had extended his stay, as a consultant, at Ferrari for another two years which lead him until early 2009.
In 2012, Byrne was involved in the design of the Ferrari F2012 Formula One car, as well as the Ferrari F70.
Read more about this topic: Rory Byrne