Laurent Mekies’ career has changed considerably in the last twelve months, with the Frenchman finding himself forced to say goodbye to Ferrari midway through last season, leaving his role as Racing Director after five years of ups and downs.
A new challenge to win
Despite the disappointment of parting ways with the Prancing Horse, the French manager, after observing six months of gardening leave, immediately embarked on an equally exciting challenge, accepting the position of Team Principal at Racing Bulls, left vacant by Franz Tost, who has definitively bid farewell to Formula 1.
For Laurent Mekies, it was a return to Faenza, after taking his first steps in the circus with Minardi first, and then Toro Rosso, serving with Red Bull’s second team for nearly a decade before joining the FIA for another three years.
Speaking in an interview with PlanetF1.com, the Frenchman recounted how his professional life has changed in the past year, from leaving Ferrari to being appointed as TP at Racing Bulls: “It will always be very difficult for a Formula 1 or car enthusiast to leave Ferrari for what it represents as a fan.”
“The reality, however, is that it is absolutely unique to have the opportunity to be associated with a project that we actually consider as if it were a new team.” – he pointed out.
“From the shareholders’ point of view, we consider it as if it were a new team, and in the same way, that team has an extraordinary base. It was a unique opportunity, and that is why I decided to make the leap.” – the Frenchman added.
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“It is an honor to be part of this group. That is how I feel every day. There is an enormous amount of talent, and we are all fortunate that this new beginning is more competitive and more ambitious. We are given the means to try to build a team that achieves this. We are still much smaller in terms of team size compared to others. We are almost 600 people between Faenza and Bicester, but it is still a significant step compared to what these guys are doing. The budget cap has helped to put things together, but there are still many things that need to be done.” – the former Ferrari Racing Director concluded.
Despite the technical and personnel limitations, the new course of the Faenza team has already produced excellent results, considering the poor result of last Formula 1 season.
Also, and above all, thanks to the significant growth of Yuki Tsunoda, RB finds itself in sixth place alone in the constructors’ standings after the first six races, with the team hoping to also challenge an Aston Martin in evident difficulty for fifth place in the standings.
Source: f1ingenerale
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