Helmut Marko reveals the timeframe for Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies joining AlphaTauri as the new team boss

Mekies' move to AlphaTauri was announced in March 2023.

Helmut Marko reveals the timeframe for Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies joining AlphaTauri as the new team boss

Helmut Marko (Credits: Soumil Arora) and Laurent Mekies (Credits: Ferrari)

It has already been known that Laurent Mekies was set to become the new team boss at Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri. He will be replacing Franz Tost. There was a delay in his joining due to disagreements with Ferrari on the terms of his contract release.

But as the race weekend in Belgium started, Ferrari officially announced the departure of Mekies. Diego Ioverno, the chief engineer at Ferrari, replaces him. It is also rumored that this will be an exchange deal, with Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache to be sent on his way to Maranello.

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“Laurent Mekies’ time at Scuderia Ferrari comes to an end this week. The Racing Director will not be in Belgium and he leaves the Prancing Horse after four and a half seasons, during which time the team took seven wins. The entire team thanks him for his great contribution during those years,” Ferrari announced.

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Red Bull chief Helmut Marko also spoke about Mekies’ arrival and specified when he would join AlphaTauri. He said, “We have agreed on a deal with Ferrari. Mekies is coming to us in January.”

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Ferrari gives updates on the contract situation for both of their drivers

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (Credits: The SportsRush)

Ferrari has had a disappointing 2023 season. The team is fourth in the constructor’s standings, with that position also uncertain due to McLaren catching up. The team has had only two podium finishes so far. But Leclerc’s pole position in Belgium might make it three.

Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur was asked about the contracts of both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Both drivers run out of their contracts at the end of 2024. While being optimistic about renewal, Vasseur said that they would start talks at the end of the 2023 season and are currently focused on developing their car.

“Why not? But we will start talking towards the end of the season and they both know it well. I told them as soon as  I arrived. Today, the only priority is to develop the car,” Vasseur told Corriere dello Sport.

Ferrari has shown promise in both the qualifying and sprint shootout in Belgium. Leclerc will be on pole on Sunday with Sainz on P4. In the sprint, Sainz and Leclerc will start on P3 and P4, respectively. It remains to be seen how the duo can capitalize on this opportunity.

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