Franz Tost announced that he would depart from Alpha Tauri after 18 years in charge of the team, which led to a management change with a new team principal and CEO, both of whom have a vast amount of experience.
On April 26th, last year, Franz Tost announced his retirement from his team chief role at the end of the season, aged 67. Tost was named team principal of the Toro Rosso team after it was acquired by Red Bull from Minardi at the end of 2005. The Austrian has seen many great drivers climb the ranks through his team, from Sebastian Vettel to, most recently, Max Verstappen.
Image: SPEEDWEEK.COM
However, the team will see a new leader for the first time in its history, with former Ferrari deputy team principal and sporting director Laurent Mekies being named the successor to Tost's position.
Mekies is a French, 46-year-old motorsport engineer who graduated from Loughborough University in England. His career started in Formula 3 before moving to Formula 1 with the Arrows team. Mekies then moved to Minardi and continued with the team following its purchase from Red Bull at the end of 2005.
He was named Toro Rosso's chief engineer and continued in the role until 2014, when he moved to the FIA as safety director before being named F1 deputy race director in 2017. After four years at the FIA, Mekies made the move to Ferrari as sporting director before being promoted in 2021 as sporting director and deputy team principal.
Mekies will be joined by new CEO Peter Bayer, who worked within the FIA from 2017 to 2021 in the roles of Secretary General for Sport since 2017 and F1 Executive Director since 2021. Mekies revealed his hopes for this year and beyond to F1.com .
"I wish him [Tost] well for the future and I know that both Peter and I will rely on his input and advice in times to come. Looking forward, I am honoured to take on the role of Team Principal and to return to the team where I spent a large portion of my early career."
Although it is currently unknown when Mekies will begin, it is likely to be at the beginning of this year. Alpha Tauri will also receive more parts from Red Bull this year for the title-winning RB19, such as the innovative front suspension.
With Alpha Tauri receiving a breath of fresh air in terms of the leaders of the team and likely to be more competitive this season, it will be interesting to see where the team stands at the end of the year.