Picture Credit: Twitter
Earlier today, AlphaTauri made an announcement that their Team Principal Franz Tost will step down from his post at the end of 2023 F1 season as the new senior managerial structure comes into effect. Tost has been an integral part of AlphaTauri for the last 18 years wherein he has led the team to wins at 2008 Italian F1 GP at Monza as Torro Rosso and repeated that feat again in 2020.
As per the announcement, the current Sporting Director of Ferrari, Laurent Mekies will join AlphaTauri as the Team Principal at a future date, while Peter Bayer joins the team as its new CEO later this year.
In a statement on the AlphaTauri website, the outgoing Team Principal was quoted as saying, “First of all, I would like to thank Dietrich Mateschitz, who gave me the incredible opportunity to be Team Principal of Scuderia Toro Rosso and Scuderia AlphaTauri for the past 18 years. It has been a true privilege to lead the Team for such a long period and a great pleasure to work with so many motivated and skilled people, who share my passion for Formula 1.”
“With 67 years old it is time to hand over and with Peter as new CEO and Laurent as Team Principal, we found two very professional people, who will bring the Team to the next level. I want to thank everyone for the good cooperation,” Tost added.
AlphaTauri mentioned that Peter Bayer “will oversee the strategic direction of the team at its facilities in Faenza and in the UK.” Meanwhile, Laurent Mekies will be “responsible for the day-to-day operation of the team, including Technical, Manufacturing, Support Function and Race Team operation and in conjunction with Peter’s strategically focussed role, they will create a new and dynamic leadership team with equal responsibility.”
