May28 (GMM) Laurent Mekies is currently barred from leaving Ferrari to prepare for his role as Alpha Tauri team principal next year.
Red Bull-owned Alpha Tauri announced Mekies’ new role in late April – so early that Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur called the timing of the official news “a bit aggressive”.
Some believe that time was meant to allow complex negotiations to take place regarding the potential and consequent transfer of some Red Bull engineers to Maranello.
Will there be a hostage exchange for Laurent Mekies? Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently said when asked about the issue. “Well, we don’t have any hostages.
“As for staff moving to Ferrari, certainly at a higher or mid-level, nothing is planned,” he insisted.
Since the announcement, the F1 circus has traveled to Baku, Miami, Imola and now Monaco – and Mekies continued to wear red as Vasseur’s replacement at Ferrari.
“Well, the truth is that the decision has not yet been made, so until then I’m wearing red,” the Frenchman said in Monaco.
“As a result, I am 100 percent committed to Ferrari.”
Asked specifically about rumors of troubled negotiations between Ferrari and Red Bull, he added: “It’s not something I’m going to go into much detail about.
“It’s fair to say that the discussion is still going on because people needed more time to talk to each other. That’s what they’re doing now,” the 46-year-old explained.
“I am confident that it gives them some time and we will find a solution that is comfortable for all parties.”
In the meantime, he has reiterated his full commitment to Ferrari rather than speculating when he might start moving to the top job at Alpha Tauri.
“Believe me, when we come to the race track in a certain jersey, we only think about that team. And so we agreed to move forward for now. “
