“We are looking at the market, but we will talk in due time.” In the press conference preceding the Baku weekend, Frederic Vasseur sent a clear message: there are prominent figures in Ferrari’s organizational chart who have left the team, but others will arrive soon to strengthen Maranello’s technical staff. It will not be a marginal acquisition campaign, as more than ten technicians are negotiating with Frederic Vasseur, including two ‘senior’ figures from Red Bull.
The hunt for the names of the two engineers coming from Red Bull sees Enrico Balbo in pole position (reported by Corriere della Sera on Saturday), Red Bull’s Head of Aerodynamics A strategic figure considering the know-how he possesses. Enrico Balbo is the No. 3 engineer at Red Bull, after Adrian Newey and Technical Director, Pierre Waché. He also worked at Mercedes in between 2014-2017.
But it is above all the figure of the second engineer at the center of Ferrari’s attention and hunt going on for days because, according to many rumors, he is one of the technicians who played a key role in the development of the formidable DRS system, which is one of the main weapons of the RB19. The mysterious man is already in Maranello and is said to be contributing to the development of the SF-23’s evolution according to Motorsport Italy. As a result, the Ferrari Racing Department is confident of reducing the gap in maximum speed with Red Bull, while they still need to work on tire wear.
This scenario also includes the Laurent Mekies affair. The press release issued by AlphaTauri last Wednesday, with which the Faenza team officially announced the arrival of the French engineer as team principal, has upset Ferrari quite a bit.
Having communicated well in advance the signing of the contract with the current sporting director of the Scuderia has created some embarrassment among the men in red, who found themselves having to comment on news spread by the competition. However, there is a hidden game that Ferrari is playing with Red Bull, which also explains Laurent Mekies‘ temporary stay in his role.
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The object of contention is the gardening that Red Bull engineers must undergo before being in service in Maranello. Precious time, since the project for the 2024 single-seater has already started, and at this stage, it becomes very important to have new ideas from technicians who can have a significant role in defining the guidelines for the car. Laurent Mekies’ resignation has provided Frederic Vasseur with a weapon that allows him to negotiate with Red Bull: a discount on Enrico Balbo’s gardening in exchange for the same treatment with the current DS of the Scuderia.
Thus, the evasive answers regarding Laurent Mekies’ departure (“We’ll see, we’re still talking about it,” clarified the French manager) are explained, confirming that the game is still open. And Laurent Mekies’ presence at the Baku pit wall is also explained, a not-so-coded message sent to the counterpart: he is still here for now. It is likely that the game will end soon, as the interest of both parties is to have the new forces in the company as soon as possible. An agreement is very likely to be reached in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the possibilities of Diego Ioverno and Jock Clear to be the ones taking over Laurent Mekies’ duties are highly increasing: Frederic Vasseur said that no external professionals will be chosen for this. Instead, he will be picking from within the team. The French team principal believes that Laurent Mekies was burdened with too many responsibilities, so his functions will be divided among two highly experienced figures in the Scuderia.
