'Red Bull gets Mekies from Ferrari early in exchange for engineers'
Rumors
It has been known for a while that Laurent Mekies will be AlphaTauri's new team boss from 2024 onwards, although the terms had to be heavily negotiated between Ferrari and Red Bull. But now an agreement seems to have been found, writes Formu1a.uno.
Mekies is currently Ferrari's race director and team boss Fred Vasseur's right-hand man. The two are likely to work together for the last time this coming weekend at Silverstone. After the British Grand Prix, Mekies will travel to Faenza to officially join Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri, six months later as team boss. He will succeed the outgoing Franz Tost there.
Deal between Ferrari and Red Bull
The Frenchman has reportedly already been denied access to sensitive information from Ferrari in recent weeks and barred from attending important meetings. Mekies' departure from the prancing horse is not without a price for Red Bull. Fred Vasseur and Christian Horner reportedly negotiated hard for a deal that would be acceptable to both parties. In exchange for Mekies, several Red Bull engineers will make the move to the Maranello-based racing team, reports Formu1a.uno.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko denied these rumours at an earlier stage.