Ferrari will enter the summer break on the back of yet more big management changes, prompting question marks around the Scuderia.
In December 2022, having watched Ferrari’s championship hopes implode, then-team boss Mattia Binotto resigned.
Charles Leclerc ended up finishing that season a whopping 146 points behind Max Verstappen.
It was a confirmation of Red Bull’s dominance that has been reiterated once again this season.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Binotti was replaced by Alfa Romeo’s Fred Vasseur.
According to paddock rumours, this change in management swayed assistant team principal, Laurent Mekies, into his decision to leave.
Mekies has moved on to AlphaTauri, where he will take the reins from the current team principal, Franz Tost, when the time comes.
Meanwhile, Ferrari also announced that Diego Ioverno will be taking the helm as its new sporting director.
However, Williams racer Jack Aitken has questioned how this management turnover will affect Scuderia’s drivers.
He believes that this high-profile move will put a heavy weight on them – in a period when they are struggling for form.
The team currently sits in P4 in the Constructor Standings.
Aitken said: “It can do, it just depends.
“Ultimately the driver is not really a part of that upper echelon of the management so it’s not going to directly affect the driver.
“It will affect them in the sense of how that new management comes in and makes their presence felt.
“How smooth is the transition going to be, are they going to be able to take the reins as effectively as Laurent Mekies.
“It’s a bit of a question mark. And that’s not really what you want in a performance-orientated scenario.
“But it’s just another question mark at the end of the day.”
Ferrari is not seeing the same sort of grand shake-up that fellow F1 team Alpine is currently experiencing.
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, technical director, Pat Fry, and sporting director, Alan Permane all left the squad.
READ: Lando Norris reveals unusual side business
This has led to much speculation that the Renault-owned team may have to leave F1.
Aitken is less dramatic about the future of Ferrari.
He stated: “You hope that everything will transition smoothly, that you’ll come out with a better result at the end with this new change of personnel, but you can’t really be sure.”