Frédéric Vasseur: “Laurent Mekies still has a long-term contract with Ferrari”
Although AlphaTauri has officially announced the arrival of Laurent Mekies by the end of the year, Ferrari has not yet contractualy released their sporting director, who is still tied to them for the long term. This move is considered aggressive by Frédéric Vasseur.
The Italian media lit the fuse a few weeks ago, announcing the upcoming departure of Mekies, the sporting director of Ferrari. It is now officially announced by AlphaTauri. The French sporting director will take the lead of the second Italian F1 team, AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso, succeeding Franz Tost. But not everything is yet well formalized apparently.
An untimely announcement, deemed “aggressive”
« Laurent has the opportunity to become a team principal in a team, I know the commitment he has had for Ferrari, I have total respect for him and I couldn’t see myself blocking him from this opportunity. » commented Vasseur, the director of Ferrari, in an interview with Canal+.
« For us, it’s a fresh start, an opportunity to implement a new organization, and I take it as such.
Laurent Mekies therefore has a contract that still binds him to Ferrari until at least 2023 and 2024. Ferrari is thus surprised by AlphaTauri’s announcement so early in the season and sees it as a too aggressive tactic: Toro Rosso [AlphaTauri note] was a bit aggressive in their press release there, but for now, he still has a long-term contract with us, so we will have to discuss the conditions and timing of that.
An opportunity that must be seized
If the form of the announcement leaves much to be desired for Ferrari, the substance is justified. Whether it’s Frédéric Vasseur or the drivers, they are all aware that such an opportunity should not be missed.
During the media sessions, Charles Leclerc was interviewed by Canal+ and Laurent Dupin. The Monegasque driver is aware of the opportunity that presents itself for Mekies and understands his choice. With Laurent, things were going great, but I also understand Laurent who had an opportunity in a role that cannot be refused. Ferrari is not just one person, so we will bounce back, but in any case, I wish the best for Laurent who has helped us a lot.
What about the premature announcement of AlphaTauri?
In its press release, AlphaTauri announces Mekies’ arrival as team principal from the end of 2023, replacing Franz Tost. Although announced, it appears that Laurent Mekies has not yet signed all the contracts that would allow him to join AlphaTauri at the end of the season.
Ferrari could therefore initiate a legal procedure to retain its sporting director, but that is not the ambitions of the prancing horse brand, according to its director.
The contract with Ferrari should therefore be mutually terminated and Laurent Mekies will indeed be able to move to AlphaTauri.
Cutting Ferrari’s wings in favor of Red Bull
AlphaTauri is the sister team of Red Bull. While seeking technical independence, it is still being managed by a board from Red Bull. It is highly likely that this announcement aims to make life more difficult for Ferrari and consequently disrupt the technical development of the Scuderia in order to protect Red Bull.
Indeed, if Mekies is announced to be leaving so early in the season, Ferrari will have to hide more and more innovative elements from him regarding the 2024 season in order to prevent Mekies from leaving with his knowledge and the 2024 innovations to AlphaTauri and therefore to Red Bull.
This is an interesting strategic move that will block the decision-making head of the Scuderia Ferrari’s development in the coming weeks, right in the middle of the race for technical improvements.
