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Posting on LinkedIn yesterday, Mekies noted starting his new role, stating:
"A new adventure starts now, and it is with a great sense of gratefulness that I go from a very special racing family to another
very special racing family. We are embarking into an exciting journey, a new chapter for us to write all together, and I can’t wait
to work alongside the talented people in Faenza and in Bicester."
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Last December:
“Firstly, I’d like to pay tribute to Franz [Tost] for the great job he has done over almost two decades in charge at Faenza.
I wish him well for the future and I know that both Peter [Bayer] and I will rely on his input and advice in times to come.
"Looking forward, I am honoured to take on the role of Team Principal and to return to the team where I spent a large portion
of my early career. Scuderia AlphaTauri has all of the ingredients necessary for greater success in the future and in tandem
with Peter [Bayer, CEO] I’m looking forward to making that happen.”
More success despite less money? AlphaTauri boss Peter Bayer in an interview
'Team Faenza' is facing the biggest upheaval since the takeover by Red Bull. Peter Bayer is supposed to set the course for a new AlphaTauri. He presents his vision to MSM.
What does it look like on the driver side? Is it still part of the concept to train young drivers for Red Bull Racing?
Yes, Young Drivers Development is a very clear part of the philosophy that remains. But there is now also the opportunity to look at the whole thing again in detail: How do you do that at the moment? How deep do we go? I find it interesting that if you look around the market a bit, many of our competitors are already starting to secure talent in the karting area.
Kimi Antonelli is perhaps one of the best examples of top talents at this level being intercepted. We also have pilots in karting who are becoming very good. I think you have to look at, is the pyramid needed? At the moment we are extremely broadly positioned and have a large number of drivers in all series. But they know how it works. Helmut Marko is in charge.
This helps us as a team that can make a fresh start. We actually have the best conditions because we can build on everything that Franz Tost has built, on his life's work, which is a very strong foundation. At the same time, we have external consultants who support us and Salzburg who stand behind us and help us with global activation etc. Hence this repositioning within the market, in which we will get closer to the Red Bull family again.
Who ultimately makes the driver decisions at AlphaTauri?
The ones I noticed were discussed intensively with us. Everyone really sits at the same table. There were discussions in which Oliver Mintzlaff was involved, Franz Tost was of course involved in a leading role, but Christian Horner was also at the table at one point. Ultimately, the decision is made by Helmut Marko.
And that will remain so?
It will stay that way. The partners mentioned represent the ecosystem. You can explain it using Daniel Ricciardo as an example. When I started, I always looked a bit and thought to myself: If Nyck de Vries doesn't make it in terms of performance, then Daniel would be a great solution for us.
Who ultimately makes the driver decisions at AlphaTauri?
Peter Bayer CEO: The ones I noticed were discussed intensively with us. Everyone really sits at the same table.
There were discussions in which Oliver Mintzlaff was involved, Franz Tost was of course involved in a leading role, but
Christian Horner was also at the table at one point. Ultimately, the decision is made by Helmut Marko.
Jonathan Eddolls, head of track engineering at AlphaTauri confirms that the RB19 suspension rather than RB20 will be used:In 2023 AlphaTauri implemented the suspensions on its own and the season, at least until the last part, did not go according to plan at all. Peter Bayer, CEO of the Faenza team, admitted the conceptual error made during the preparation of the last single-seater that will bear the name of the clothing brand in the hands of Red Bull.
“The initial decision to do our own thing with those critical parts was simply a mistake, and the people who made the decision at the time are no longer with us,” Bayer said.
“In 2024 we will use the suspension from the RB19. Red Bull is a very aggressive team in development and they release their components late, because they want to maximize the performance of their car.”
"And then for us, sometimes, to take into consideration something particular like a suspension so late... It's an integral part of the car, of the package and sometimes yes, it's very difficult to add it to the car and get an optimal package in a time frame of such a short time."
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.https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alph ... /10510321/Bayer subsequently undertook some consultancy work for the IOC and for Audi's F1 project before the AlphaTauri opportunity arose.
Talks regained momentum earlier this year as Red Bull looked to reboot AlphaTauri under new management,
with a split CEO/team principal arrangement replacing Franz Tost.
Bayer will be joined by Laurent Mekies in the latter role.
"I really think is a two-man job," says Bayer. "Unless you're in the business for 20 years like Franz or Christian [Horner]
or Toto [Wolff], then you might have a structure underneath that sort of supports it.
"But for a medium to small size team the complexity of supporting technical, financial, media commercial, politics,
if you want to be efficient, it's too big for one guy."
The split of responsibilities with his former FIA colleague Mekies is clear: "He's doing race team, technical, sporting,
which is his primary focus," says Bayer.
"Mine is commercial and business and strategy. And then jointly, we'll do the financial regulations."
McLaren with Brown and Stella is pretty similar.ThijsMuis wrote: ↑05 Jan 2024, 16:51Thanks Wouter.
I Didn't think to check the stories just LinkedIn.
So Mekies sporting and Bayer administration. Sounds unnecessary complicated. Alpha Tauri managed before now there is 2 guys.
Is there any other team that has this kind of set up with what looks like 2 bosses?
Similar set up yes.lio007 wrote: ↑05 Jan 2024, 17:22McLaren with Brown and Stella is pretty similar.ThijsMuis wrote: ↑05 Jan 2024, 16:51Thanks Wouter.
I Didn't think to check the stories just LinkedIn.
So Mekies sporting and Bayer administration. Sounds unnecessary complicated. Alpha Tauri managed before now there is 2 guys.
Is there any other team that has this kind of set up with what looks like 2 bosses?
https://speedcafe.com/liam-lawson-alpha ... rd-berger/Lawson ‘the one’ for Marko and Berger
AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer has revealed how Liam Lawson came highly recommended to Red Bull by Gerhard Berger
but that former team principal Franz Tost needed convincing.
Bayer, who took over as team CEO last year, says he remembered “some good racing” from Lawson during his two seasons in F2 whilst working at the time with the FIA.
Speaking to Speedcafe, he added: “For me, the main impulse came through Gerhard who said that when Liam was doing DTM he was bloody amazing.
“Gerhard is a big fan of Liam’s racing style. He said, ‘He’s the one. He’s going for the gap, and he’s fast’.
“Helmut was also very convinced by his natural speed but Franz was initially a bit sceptical. He said, ‘Looking at his results, I’m not sure’.
“If you purely look at the results, he wouldn’t be a standout driver, but he has done a lot of racing, and in different categories, and again and again he was showing there was a spark. Helmut was 100 percent ‘That’s the guy’.
“Franz, Christian (Horner, Red Bull team principal), and I had a long discussion, and that’s how Liam got the reserve role.”
Lawson was taken on as test and reserve driver with AlphaTauri and Red Bull in 2022, before being catapulted into the F1 spotlight last year when replacing Daniel Ricciardo over the Dutch Grand Prix weekend after the Australian broke a bone in his left hand following a crash in practice.
The young New Zealander performed superbly in very tricky conditions, going on to race in a further four grands prix, notably finishing ninth in the Singapore GP, as well as just missing out on points in Italy and Japan.
Bayer was left amazed by how well Lawson adapted, particularly given the ‘huge pressure’ he was under as a rookie.
“You get this one chance in Formula 1, and you want to deliver because there are only 20 seats,” said Bayer.
“I told Liam about my interview (for the AlphaTauri CEO position) with the shareholders. I’ve done so many interviews, and done so much talking in my life, but I was still bloody nervous.
“For these guys, it’s a one-off when they know they have to deliver. They may get one opportunity and that is it.
“Liam said that in Zandvoort he was so f***ing nervous. He said he was like this in the car (shaky hands), but then once he got going, he was alright.
“That’s a racing driver, when suddenly the switch falls and you transform that excitement into performance.
“That’s really where you see the difference with these guys, and that’s what he (Lawson) is absolutely capable of. Put him in the car, that’s the switch, and he goes.”
