Ferrari, the reinforcement plan unveiled in Baku. Thirty engineers arriving – Corriere.it

The Azerbaijan GP has almost always offered absurd chaos. With double qualifying (on Friday the one valid for Sunday’s race) and Sprint Race (Saturday) it will be roulette. But the most surreal scene has already been seen, from a reality show. When Laurent Mekies entered smiling, in the Ferrari hospitality with the ordinance uniform. As if there had never been that press release with which AlphaTauri announced him as future team principal. Without having an agreement with Ferrari on the timing of the transfer, they were taken by surprise twice in Maranello. Maybe from the French negotiations, certainly from the announcement. Result: a key man of the organization (racing director and sports director), with access to sensitive information and future programs, today (barring twists and turns) will sit on the wall with an understanding already in his pocket with a team from the Red Bull family . That is, with archrivals. A mess, a badly managed affair that is creating embarrassment even within Ferrari itself. A sign of confusion, because the desire of Binotto’s former deputy to leave was clear, and he had previously already discussed a proposal to move to Liberty Media.

Fred Vasseur’s flimsy defense: But that was different. This time I wouldn’t have blocked him, a great opportunity for him, becoming team principal was his ambition. Some offers cannot be refused. The pillar of the future – as Vasseur had defined Mekies just a month ago – has come down like a sand castle, and we don’t even know how long it will remain operational because AlphaTauri has been “aggressive” in its communication and Laurent has a long contract with us . We have to discuss it. His duties will be reassigned among several people as part of an extensive restructuring process. Vasseur promises a massive acquisition campaign, thirty hires are expected by June. But don’t ask me for names because I won’t tell them. There would be a negotiation started with a leading engineer of Red Bull, the Piedmontese Enrico Balbo. the head of aerodynamics, last year he was on the podium at Imola celebrating with Verstappen and Perez.

Post-Binotto reconstruction will take a long time while the present requires immediate interventions. The first three races for me were disastrous. Word of Charles Leclerc, the piano is not enough – his first song Aus:23, written before the disappointment of Melbourne – was released to console him. On his future beyond 2024 he declares loyalty to Ferrari: I want to win here, I have faith in Fred. But he seems to want to send two messages. To those who ask him if he has had contact with Mercedes: No, not yet. Not currently. I’m focused on Ferrari. To those who ask him if he wants to continue: Yes, from me, but we’ll see if after 2024 my bosses will still want me.

The negotiations must still be open, for Vasseur there is no hurry: We will do it later, now we must concentrate on the car. The team principal also sends a message to Charles that points to the status of first driver: All winning teams are built around a single driver: from Schumacher’s Ferrari to Verstappen’s Red Bull. Maybe Sainz won’t like it, but music to the ears of the Monegasque, an important pillar, inside and outside the car. But it would be better not to use the word pillar anymore.