The Latest Breaking News from Laurent Mekies

After all, the way that Andrea Stella took to the team principal role at McLaren like a duck to water – helping steer one of the most impressive F1 comebacks in living memory – showed all that’s possible with the right engineering-led focus at the top. 

Bayer and Mekies, who officially started his new job this week after serving out his Ferrari gardening leave, have combined to replace departed team boss Franz Tost.

On Thursday ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari announced its sporting director Laurent Mekies – who has been at the team since 2018 – has now officially left the Scuderia.

In April AlphaTauri announced that Mekies would replace its long-time team boss Franz Tost, who is stepping down at the end of the season. 

In other words, putting Ricciardo in the car is not just a case of short-term expediency and giving the Australian a chance to get up to speed ahead of a potential return to the main Red Bull team.

Red Bull bought the Minardi team and rebranded it as Toro Rosso from the 2006 season until 2020, when it was renamed Scuderia AlphaTauri to advertise the company's fashion label

AlphaTauri is in-line for a management restructure as long-serving team boss Franz Tost will step aside at the end of the campaign to be replaced by respected Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies.

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies plans to take over as AlphaTauri team principal next season, but the Scuderia appears to be plying hard-ball over his contract

Before the Monaco Grand Prix, weekend Honda announced it would return to F1 as a fully-fledged engine manufacturer by supplying works power units to Aston Martin from 2026, when F1 moves to new engine regulations with a higher degree of electrification and sustainable fuels.