Ferrari boss criticises 'AGGRESSIVE' AlphaTauri statement
Ferrari boss criticises 'AGGRESSIVE' AlphaTauri statement
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has responded to AlphaTauri's recent announcement of their plans to make Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies their team principal in 2024.
Vasseur has described the announcement as 'aggressive', as Mekies is still under a long-term contract with Ferrari.
Franz Tost will be leaving AlphaTauri at the end of the season and will likely be replaced by Ferrari assistant team principal Mekies, news which even surprised Yuki Tsunoda.
"First of all, I think it's a mega opportunity for Laurent,” he says. “And I'm considering also that I have a good relationship with him, and I won't block Laurent for sure.
“Then if you speak about timeline, I think that [AlphaTauri] was probably a bit aggressive on the press release, and we have a long-term contract with Laurent and we'll have to discuss about details."
With Mekies still legally bound to the Prancing Horse, Vasseur opened up on when his colleague could make the switch.
"This will depend on the condition of the change. For sure as I said before, we have a long-term contract with him and we'll have to find the best for Ferrari, and depending on when he will leave the company, and when he will move to [AlphaTauri], we will decide the end of the collaboration.
“But I'm not scared about this, because we will do it properly, and the relationship is very positive."
'Difficult to refuse'
Vasseur was also asked when Mekies told him he wanted to leave the team, but he refused to disclose any details.
"This is the relationship between Laurent and myself, and I won't disclose details,” Vasseur said. “But we had a very open discussion on this because I've known Laurent for 30 years and I think that it's very difficult to refuse this kind of proposal for him."
Vasseur is convinced that his long-term friend Mekies will do a good job at AlphaTauri.
"If you are looking for a team principal in F1 you don't have so long a list of people knowing F1, the FIA and so on,” he said. “You have a list of five or 10 people in the group."
"I think he has a very, very wide understanding of the business, coming from race engineer to the FIA," Vasseur said. "And for sure, in this kind of job, you are looking for someone with a complete understanding of the business. And I think he will do a good job."
Whilst on the outside Vasseur seems to be playing down his friend jumping ship, undoubtedly, Vasseur viewed his French compatriot and close associate as an essential member of his team for the foreseeable future as he tries to return to the era of the Ferrari golden days.
READ MORE: F1 Race Engineers: The stars of team radio with Hamilton, Verstappen and co
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull chief admits interest in poaching TWO rival stars
- 44 minutes ago
Audi agree LONG-TERM F1 deal with star driver
- 1 hour ago
FIA boss HITS OUT at 'court of public opinion' after interference allegations
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner reveals Verstappen SECRET as team reveal surprise name change
- Today 06:27
Ferrari announce DRASTIC change as Verstappen issues dire warning to bosses - GPFans F1 Recap
- Today 00:27
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
F1 giants announce name change with IMMEDIATE effect
Ferrari announce HUGE F1 change to iconic red livery
F1 team 'set to announce MEGA signing' in major Red Bull challenge
Big name driver 'very angry internally' after controversial battle
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860