Final separation
The long divorce between Ferrari and Laurent Mekies seems to have finally concluded. It has been months since the Maranello team officially announced Laurent Mekies as the next team principal for AlphaTauri, replacing the retiring Franz Tost. However, the lack of an agreement between Maranello and the Frenchman, who still had a contract with the Prancing Horse, complicated the negotiations. There were even talks of Laurent Mekies being kept hostage by the Scuderia as leverage to hire Red Bull technicians more easily. The plan, however, doesn’t seem to have yielded significant results.
Red Bull suggestion
His last appearance as part of the Ferrari team was last weekend at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary. The former Ferrari Racing Director did not fly with the Italian side to Belgium, where the first part of the 2023 Formula One season will conclude this weekend at the 7.004-kilometre Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, and it has been an extremely difficult championship for the Maranello team.
His position has already been effectively filled by Diego Ioverno. Meanwhile, the Italian press has begun to speculate about another internal departure from Ferrari. Italian journalist Fulvio Solms, in particular, expressed regret in Corriere dello Sport about Laurent Mekies’ departure, suggesting that he could become Christian Horner’s successor at Red Bull in the near future.
From January 1, 2024, he will be the head of AlphaTauri.
“[…] The Faenza team is going through a deep phase of metamorphosis – Fulvio Solms emphasized – […] it is inevitable that Mekies, by accepting the position, has started to walk a path that could also lead him to lead Red Bull, succeeding Christian Horner. […] If successful, in five years, Mekies will be fully formed as a team principal […]. In other words, Red Bull could give wings to Mekies too.”
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Qualities akin to those of Stefano Domenicali
In his analysis, Fulvio Solms also highlighted what, in his opinion, prevented Laurent Mekies from going even further in Ferrari, drawing an interesting comparison with Stefano Domenicali: “Laurent Mekies […] from a political point of view, never had the chance to become the head of Ferrari for a very simple reason: he was Mattia Binotto‘s right-hand man, and Binotto was not well-liked by the president. So, he could only continue to grow as long as Binotto was there. […] Several qualities in common with Stefano Domenicali were noticed: the same broad vision […], an in-depth knowledge of sporting regulations, […] great ability to relate to others, and always finding the right words to say to the drivers […]. A significant loss, and therefore, good luck to him and Ferrari.” – Italian journalist Fulvio Solms concluded.
Leave a Reply