Mekies: Embracing a Break from the Fast Lane Avoided the “Intensity” of Switching F1 Teams Mid-Season

Laurent Mekies is all set to make his official move to the soon-to-be-renamed Faenza team on January 1. In his new role, he’ll be partnering up with CEO Peter Bayer, while the former team principal, Franz Tost, sets his sights on retirement.

Prior to joining his new team, Mekies remained a Ferrari employee until the end of this month. However, he has been on gardening leave and hasn’t been actively working since the summer break. Surprisingly, Mekies views this time off as a blessing in disguise, allowing him to gather his thoughts and reflect before reuniting with a team he had previously served as an engineer during its Minardi and Toro Rosso days.

Speaking at the Sunday’s Autosport Awards, Mekies shared his perspective on the break, saying, “At the very beginning, when I realized I had to wait all these months, it was a bit frustrating. Because you want to jump straight away and think about how you can contribute and support.”

However, he quickly realized the benefits of this hiatus, adding, “But the truth is, if you have gone from one job to another straight away, you will probably be taken straight away by the intensity of the racing calendar, by the day-to-day decisions that you have to make.”

Mekies believes that stepping back for a while has given him the chance to see the bigger picture and consider how he wants to approach various aspects of his new role. He emphasized the importance of the human element in Formula 1, saying, “It’s really what our sport is now. It’s the people, it’s the people-to-people. And that’s very much what I’m looking forward to starting with again.”

Expressing his gratitude for the opportunity, Mekies said, “I’m very, very fortunate to come from an incredible racing family and going to another incredible racing family. So, very, very grateful.”

Franz Tost, who’s departing the team after an 18-year stint at the helm, expressed confidence in the team’s future under Mekies and Peter Bayer’s leadership. Tost stated, “First of all, Peter has been with us since June, and I think that we are working together very closely. He understands the team now much better, and he has got a lot of experience. He knows F1.”

Tost also highlighted Mekies’ familiarity with the team, saying, “Laurent Mekies, anyway, was working with us; he knows the team from the past. I think that these two people are absolutely the right people to take over the team.”

With ambitious plans for the team’s future, AlphaTauri is set to reveal its new name when the official 2024 F1 entry list is released by the FIA next week. Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, sister team to AlphaTauri, commented on the impending rebrand, stating, “There’s a lot of speculation about naming and so on, and of course, you’ve got company names, you’ve got entrant names that pay deference to partners as well.”

Horner continued, “I’m sure when the timing is right, they’ll announce what their rebrand is going to be for next year, which will mark the end of Franz’s chapter. Peter and Laurent Mekies have ambitious plans for the team as they go forward.”

In the world of Formula 1, where split-second decisions can make or break a race, Laurent Mekies’ well-timed break from the fast lane may just be the strategic pit stop he needed before accelerating into a new chapter with the Faenza team.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Transition

More about Transition

• Autosport Awards
• Laurent Mekies – Ferrari Sporting Director
• Faenza team
• Franz Tost – Former Team Principal
• AlphaTauri’s New Name