April 26, (THEWILL) – Scuderia AlphaTauri announced that team principal, Franz Tost, the second-longest-serving Team Principal in Formula One, will step down at the end of the 2023 season.
Tost will be replaced by Ferrari Sporting Director, Laurent Mekies. AlphaTauri said the change was aimed at ensuring continuity and securing long-term stability for the team. Peter Bayer, previously Executive Director at Formula One and Secretary General for Motorsport at the governing FIA, will join the team as the Chief Executive Officer later this year.
The team did not confirm when Mekies would start his new role. Meanwhile, Tost, who will remain a consultant for the team in 2024, said that it was time for him to hand over his day-to-day duties. Mekies, a former Deputy Race Director at the FIA, who joined Ferrari in 2018, expressed his honour to take on the role of Team Principal and to return to the team where he spent a large portion of his early career.
“Scuderia AlphaTauri has all of the ingredients necessary for greater success in the future and in tandem with Peter, I’m looking forward to making that happen,” Mekies said.
The move comes as Ferrari has undergone a shake-up, with Fred Vasseur replacing Mattia Binotto as principal earlier this year, and a number of other long-serving staff leaving the team.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
