Sainz responds to Ferrari staff changes

Carlos Sainz is adamant there are no concerns over a transitional period for Ferrari following the departure of Racing Director Laurent Mekies.

The Frenchman has left the Scuderia with immediate effect ahead of his move to become Franz Tost's replacement as AlphaTauri Team Principal.

Announcing the departure ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Ferrari revealed Diego Ioverno as Mekies successor in the tweaked Sporting Director role.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365, Sainz said: "Laurent was a very important figure in Ferrari over the last few years.

"He was a huge contributor to the team. I had a really good relationship with him, he was really proactive and very good to the team.

"We are very appreciative and that is probably why he has gone to a Team Principal role in another team because he was doing a good job for us.

"But the transition has been done already. He has been very helpful in helping Diego do the old job he was doing, so I am not concerned at all by the transition period because it has already been smooth enough."

Analyse

Mekies will take his first Team Principal role with AlphaTauri as part of the Faenza-based outfit's management reshuffle that has seen the hiring of former FIA Secretary General for Sport Peter Bayer.

Asked what makes Mekies a prime candidate to make the step up to a team-leading role, Sainz replied: "There are very different kinds of Team Principals out there nowadays, there is no clear characteristic for everyone.

"You have the likes of Toto [Wolff] or Christian [Christian] and Fred [Vasseur] or Mattia [Binotto] in the past with a very technical approach.

"I am not the one to comment on what makes a good Team Principal but if you analyse the ones that have been there for the longest, you will find the traits."