Roberto Chinchero feels "Ferrari keeping Laurent Mekies on pit wall as a signal to Red Bull"

Roberto Chinchero feels “Ferrari keeping Laurent Mekies on pit wall as a signal to Red Bull”. Roberto Chinchero on Laurent Mekies's situation.

Formula 1 Journalist Roberto Chinchero, during a recent live stream on Twitch, shared his thoughts about Laurent Mekies’ departure from Scuderia Ferrari, which has been officially confirmed by AlphaTauri just a few days ahead of the Baku weekend. However, the French manager was regularly at the Ferrari pit wall in Azerbaijan and the exact moment when he will leave the Italian side has not been announced:

“If Laurent Mekies had left his role in Maranello to become a sporting director somewhere else, that would have been a sign that something is not working in Ferrari. But if he was offered the opportunity to become a team principal, it’s normal that he accepted it. It’s an opportunity that happens once in a lifetime,” said the Italian journalist during his analysis on Twitch.

Roberto Chinchero then continued, stating: “Just think of James Vowels: at Mercedes, he was Toto’s right-hand man, had a great position, was respected by everyone, and was also well paid. But when Williams called him, Toto Wolff himself said they couldn’t hold him back. When the same thing happens at Ferrari, everyone says there’s a bad atmosphere and people are running away. For Laurent Mekies, going to Alpha Tauri is a great opportunity: he doesn’t have to move his family because it’s only 50 kilometers away, and he knows the environment because he has already worked there.” – the Italian journalist explained.

And it is precisely on this issue that the bomb is dropped: “If I have to add something, I was whispered by sources not from Ferrari but in the middle, let’s say, that Ferrari is keeping Laurent Mekies at the pit wall as a signal to Red Bull. The Red Team could have released him before Baku, but not only did they not release him, but they still keep him on display. The reason is that Ferrari would have put two senior technicians from Red Bull under contract, and one has a gardening period. The presence of Laurent Mekies is a signal that they want to make an exchange: I remove the gardening period of Mekies, and you remove it for the one who comes from me. Keeping him on display is like saying: here he is, do you want him? Then release the engineer.” – Roberto Chinchero pointed out.