Laurent Mekies would be leaving Ferrari

Is Scuderia in crisis just a few days after the start of the season? There have been rumors of several key personnel leaving the Italian team recently. Last week, David Sanchez, the head responsible for the design of the cars, reportedly left his position. And this Sunday, March 12, another big name has been mentioned.

It would be Laurent Mekies. According to our Italian colleagues, the Frenchman has reportedly submitted his resignation from the Scuderia. Indeed, he is said to have found a position within the management of F1, alongside Stefano Domenicali. However, our colleagues indicate that Fred Vasseur [team director] has vetoed the situation. The reason for this potential departure would be his limited powers compared to the Mattia Binotto era since the beginning of the season.

A coldness between Benedetto Vigna and Fred Vasseur

Davis Sanchez and Laurent Mekies wouldn’t be the only ones packing their bags. Gino Rosato (external relations) and Jonathan Giacobazzi (public relations) would have also submitted their resignations.

Following the first race, Fred Vasseur allegedly organized a joint meeting in Maranello and Charles Leclerc reportedly requested a meeting with John Elkann, the top executive of the brand, to express his concerns.

Even more serious, Corriere Della Sera reports that the boss of the Scuderia and Benedetto Vigna, the CEO of Ferrari, would be at odds. The reason for this tension? Fred Vasseur would have accompanied Toto Wolff to Bahrain. This behavior would not have been appreciated. The Frenchman would also have been prevented from bringing in a new sponsor for the red team.

An important delay on Red Bull

The first race of the season was a failure. The team decided to preserve Leclerc’s tires in Q3, forcing the Monégasque to settle for second place on the grid, behind Max Verstappen. Then, the engineers made risky changes to car number 16 in an all-or-nothing attempt, but without success as Charles Leclerc eventually retired after 40 laps. As if that wasn’t enough, he could face a ten-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix.

On his part, Carlos Sainz let slip the third place as he was overtaken by Fernando Alonso, due to excessive tire wear which already plagued Ferrari last year.

The Scuderia, for the moment, seems to be trailing significantly behind Red Bull, as mentioned by Charles Leclerc on the sidelines of the Grand Prix.

“I was driving a second slower than them, which is not ideal for feeling confident, to be honest. Red Bull seems to have found something huge regarding their race pace,” he admitted to Canal+ microphone.

The next Grand Prix will take place in Saudi Arabia next Sunday where the Scuderia must bounce back.