Incoming Racing Bulls crew principal Alan Permane believes his Components 1 squad’s father or mother crew Purple Bull is in good palms with Laurent Mekies.
Mekies was appointed Purple Bull F1 crew boss and CEO earlier this month as Purple Bull’s high administration determined to take away Christian Horner after 20 years within the function.
Whereas Purple Bull has seen a slide in competitiveness over the previous 18 months, with query marks over star asset Max Verstappen’s long-term future, Mekies can have large footwear to fill as Horner constructed up the crew from the remnants of an underperforming Jaguar outfit and led it via two dominant spells with Sebastian Vettel after which Verstappen.
Including to the complexity of the function, Horner additionally commissioned a Purple Bull Powertrains arm to take energy unit improvement in-house for the 2026 rules, primarily based at its increasing Milton Keynes campus.
However having labored with Mekies at Racing Bulls over the previous 12 months and a half, Permane mentioned he feels Mekies has all the best attributes and expertise for considered one of F1’s most complex jobs.
“I believe they’re getting an ideal man, truthfully,” Permane advised Motorsport.com in an unique interview. “He is a folks individual. He is a racer. He is aware of racing, however he is exceptionally good with folks.
“I’ve labored with lots of crew principals in my 36 years in Components 1, and he is proper up there with one of the best of them.”
Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls, Alan Permane, Racing Bulls
Picture by: Peter Fox / Getty Pictures
Requested about his personal function, which can contain splitting time between Racing Bulls’ twin headquarters in Faenza and Milton Keynes, he added: “For me, enormous boots to fill. I am very lucky that there is a actually robust administration crew throughout Faenza and Milton Keynes, and they’re simply sensible.
“I do know them nicely, as a result of I’ve sat on that administration crew for the final 18 months, and so they’re serving to with the transition. However as I say, Purple Bull are getting somebody excellent and really able to main them.”
And whereas Mekies will probably put his personal stamp on Purple Bull after an evaluation interval, Permane feels the Frenchman’s historical past at Racing Bulls will guarantee continuity as the 2 squads work collectively as intently because the rules permit. In addition to taking suspension components and gearboxes, Racing Bulls can even transfer to Purple Bull’s in-house engines in 2026.
“It will be extraordinarily useful, however Laurent and Christian labored nicely collectively,” Permane mentioned. “The synergy works nicely, and we’ll proceed that synergy programme inside what the rules permit.
“We’ll each be in Milton Keynes at instances, however there will be instances I will be in Faenza and the technical crew in Milton Keynes will take care of that synergy stuff, so I do not see any points there in any respect.”
Permane began his F1 profession as an engineer with Benetton in 1989 and have become a key pillar of the Enstone crew via its Renault, Lotus and Alpine guises till he was dismissed in the summertime of 2024, alongside then-team boss Otmar Szafnauer. He began at Racing Bulls in January 2024 as racing director.
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