Thread by @JunaidSamodien_

AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT - AlphaTauri will be reorganized in 2024. Retaining the B team was important for Red Bull. A sale would have damaged your own interests. But not everything is settled yet. It's about replacing future team boss Laurent Mekies.

Two of the ten F1 teams have a common owner. While Red Bull is at the top, AlphaTauri has recently slipped to the other end of the table. That should change now. Red Bull has initiated a fresh start. It was a rocky road up to this decision.

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The new bosses of the energy drink empire went through all the options to clean up the Alpha Tauri construction site. Sale, relocation, renovation.

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The story of Toro Rosso - aka AlphaTauri - is a tale of mediocre with occasional high points. In 17 years of F1, Red Bull's sister team has celebrated two GP wins and 3 other podiums, but never finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship.

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Recently, the form curve of the racing team from Faenza has been pointing steeply downwards, even if the last two upgrades were rewarded with two points and signal light at the end of the tunnel.

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Even Red Bull sports director Helmut Marko described ninth place in the past season as "unacceptable." And in the first races of this season, the series continued seamlessly.

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Toro Rosso was a passion of the company founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died last year. He wanted to grow his own stars instead of buying them expensively somewhere else. And for that he needed a training center. A total of 15 drivers have been passed through since 2006.

Anyone who was good was allowed to move up to Red Bull. Those who did not meet the high requirements were sorted out, sometimes all too quickly. With Vettel and Verstappen, the junior team has produced two world champions, with Ricciardo, Sainz and Gasly three other GP winners.

With the exception of Scott Speed, everyone scored championship points. But the system also had weaknesses. The constant coming and going of the drivers prevented continuous development of the team.

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There was never a constant to build on. Franz Tost had to plug holes and start all over again. Synergies with Red Bull were poorly used. The technical office in Faenza had its pride. You didn't want to blindly copy from your big brother.

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The Alpha Tauri AT04 takes over the rear of the Red Bull RB19, but not its front axle. And the aerodynamic concept also goes its own way. A sale of the Alpha Tauri racing team failed due to high demands and too few interested parties.

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That should change in 2024. Since the German sports manager Oliver Mintzlaff has been swinging the scepter at Red Bull, the clocks have been ticking differently. Like all alpha animals, Mintzlaff also wants to give up his calling card. "Keep it up" couldn't and shouldn't exist.

AlphaTauri was not only put to the test because of the earnings crisis of the last 16 months. Red Bull's B-Team is burning too much money. As the ninth place in the 2022 Championship, AlphaTauri will receive around 75 million dollars from the Formula 1 fund this year.

In order to operate at the cost limit, however, the team needs twice the amount. The sponsors are far from covering the difference, and the Alpha Tauri fashion brand is not working as desired, despite the Formula 1 advertising platform.

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"If something doesn't work, you have to consider all solutions," one hears from the Red Bull camp.

Initially, a sale was up for debate if the price was right. $850 million was called for. There is said to have even been an interested party from Kazakhstan, but the number....

[.....] was too hot for Red Bull. There was a suspicion that behind the money is Dmitry Mazepin. Everyone is keeping their hands off Russian investors at the moment.

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When it turned out that no one else was willing to pay the sum, intentions to sell were officially denied. Nothing pushes the price down more than offering yourself to the market.

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Franz Tost has been the team boss of the Red Bull B team since 2006. The era will soon come to an end.

A second scenario was the complete move to England, which is not so easy because of the Italian labor laws.

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Nevertheless, it's a done deal that the technology will move to England step by step in order to be closer to Red Bull. A hundred people are already on the island anyway. AlphaTauri uses the A-Team's simulator and wind tunnel.

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Thus, Mintzlaff had to be presented with new survival models for the continuation of two teams. It is extremely important for Red Bull to have a branch office.

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Also because of profitability, which is a high priority for the new management. In the event of a sale, you would only have limited access.

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AlphaTauri is a customer in the Red Bull wind tunnel, a buyer for its own engine from 2026 and an alternative location for engineers who absolutely want to keep in their own warehouse but could not afford within the budget cap alone.

And you need the branch in Faenza as a career ladder for talent from your own stable. The solution, which is accepted by the highest authority, could therefore only be a new management with a stronger connection to Milton Keynes.

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Team boss Franz Tost will resign at the end of the year and will continue to be available to the racing team as a consultant.

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His role will be shared by two new signings in the future. Former FIA General Secretary Peter Bayer will be the managing director, who will determine the strategic orientation of the racing team.

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Bayer was already under contract with Audi, but wasn't happy there because there weren't enough tasks for him. With Andreas Seidl and Adam Baker, Audi already has two generals on board.

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Ferrari sports director Laurent Mekies is planned as the new team boss. Mekies worked at Toro Rosso from 2004 to 2014, including as chief engineer, then switched to the FIA ​​and from there to Ferrari in 2018. Now both parties are arguing when Mekies will be released.

The 46-year-old Frenchman still has a contract with Ferrari until the end of 2025 and after that he is said to be suspended from work for over a year.

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A leak in the system leaked the news to the "Gazetta dello Sport" that Mekies was about to join his old team. The indiscretion came in handy for Red Bull. This created facts.

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Two days later, Alpha Tauri sent out a press release announcing the personnel carousel at the top – with the caveat that one does not know when the new team boss can start. This is how you give Ferrari the buck if Mekies is now held for too long. But that is only the half truth.

Ferrari, for its part, already has some Red Bull engineers on its hook. Reports in Italy that Aero boss Enrico Balbo is said to be among them are apparently fiction instead of truth.

If the technicians envisaged by Ferrari are allowed to come to Maranello quickly, Mekies would also be free. Otherwise, Alpha Tauri will have to wait. Vasseur made it clear in relation to Mekie's personnel that Ferrari's interests take precedence here.

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