The first half of Scuderia Ferrari’s 2023 Formula One season has proven to be challenging and complex, given the results obtained and the performances shown in the initial twelve world championship rounds. In fact, despite the triumphant expectations publicly expressed in the winter, the Red Team struggled considerably to extract potential (albeit limited) from the SF-23 single-seater, which, despite being the logical evolution of the 2022 F1-75 car, turned out to be uncompetitive and difficult to comprehend. To the extent that it dropped the Prancing Horse to fourth place in the constructors’ standings.
In addition to the verdicts of the track, the present of the Italian team is complicated and made unstable by the significant ongoing changes in the Maranello team’s structure. This is characterized by the significant turnover of key figures that has taken place in recent months. This began with the departure of team principal Mattia Binotto last December, followed by David Sanchez in the spring, and most recently Laurent Mekies heading to Alpha Tauri.
These departures have naturally been followed (or will be in the coming months) by a considerable influx of new expertise from the outside, but for now this situation has created an uneasy atmosphere and an unhealthy climate in which to lay the groundwork for a better future.
The departure of Laurent Mekies, officially announced by Maranello in conjunction with the Belgian Grand Prix, laid the foundation for a curious incident (innocuous but likely to be talked about during this break). As reported by Italian journalists Giorgio Terruzzi and Pino Allievi in the “Flobert” column of the weekly magazine Autosprint, the French racing director, soon to become team principal at Alpha Tauri, organized a farewell party at Ferrari. Besides inviting the entire team, he also invited the former team principal of the Prancing Horse, Mattia Binotto.
The presence of the technician from Lausanne was partly justified by Laurent’s gratitude towards the person who most wanted him in Maranello. However, it was made more intriguing by sightings reported by the two Italian journalists. These sightings indicated a long conversation (the second after the one that took place in March at the entrance of the Ferrari Racing Division building) between the current team principal of the Prancing Horse, Fréd Vasseur, and his predecessor.
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“Laurent Mekies, on the verge of moving to Alpha Tauri as team principal, organized a farewell evening at a restaurant on the hills of Maranello a few days after the Belgian Grand Prix. The entire team was invited, along with a former figure of excellence, namely Mattia Binotto. He was seen in deep conversation with Fred Vasseur. What they said, well, no one among the attendees was able to tell us. The atmosphere between the two? Extremely cordial, nonetheless.” – the Italian journalists explained.
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