The start of the 2023 season has not gone anywhere near as well as Ferrari would have hoped following their disappointing end to last season.
Have capitulated in the battle for both championships last year, Ferrari decided to replace their team principal Mattia Binotto with Fred Vasseur, hoping that a change in leadership could revitalise the team.
This has not been the case however, as last season’s reliability issues reappeared at the Bahrain Grand Prix, forcing Charles Leclerc to retire from the race while running in the podium places.
Behind the scenes there is chaos at Ferrari following this disappointing start to the season, with Leclerc even requesting a meeting with Ferrari president John Elkann to discuss the matter.
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The leadership style of CEO Benedetto Vigna has reportedly become “cumbersome” according to Formu1a.uno, with a number of members of staff choosing to depart the team.
Head of concept David Sanchez has already walked away from the team and Formu1a.uno have now reported that assistant team principal and race director Laurent Mekies could be the next to leave.
Mekies was initially rumoured to take over from Binotto before the appointment of Vasseur but Ferrari opted for a clean break from their struggles rather than promoting from within.
Vasseur has already blocked Mekies’ first attempt at leaving the team, with his contract situation making an exit very complicated.
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Mekies has reportedly received an offer from Alpine in recent weeks, with the French team looking to lure the Ferrari man to be a part of their project after he completes a period of gardening leave.
Both F1 and the FIA have also made offers to Mekies, meaning that the Frenchman would not be short on options should he decide for definite to leave Ferrari.
When asked about the staff exodus, Fred Vasseur claimed that it was always bound to happen, with some members of staff who were particularly close to Mattia Binotto inevitably set to leave Ferrari following the sacking of the Swiss.