AlphaTauri is currently Red Bull Racing’s B-team. Despite the fact that they compete in the same category and each team has its members and its own budget, AlphaTauri is the team where many of the young promises that have participated in the Red Bull junior program begin to carve out their career within Formula 1.
This is where the young drivers begin to gain experience so that, at some point and after having shown that they have enough talent, they are promoted to the top team of the energy drink brand. One of the drivers who started in this team was the two-time world champion, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman began his F1 career at the age of 17 with Toro Rosso (which would later be named AlphaTauri). The year after his arrival, the reigning champion was promoted to Red Bull, where he has continued his successful run with two world championships to date.
The Italian team is going through a restructuring moment where there will be many changes within the organization. The first of them is the change of team principal. Franz Tost will no longer be the person in charge of this team, and Laurent Mekies will arrive, who currently serves as Ferrari’s racing director. In the same way, Red Bull’s main advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, stated that the responsibility of leading the Italian team will be divided in two, the team principal, Laurent Mekies and also Peter Bayer, who serves as the outgoing FIA general secretary. Likewise, he confirmed that the team will no longer be called “AlphaTauri”.
“AlphaTauri will have two new leaders in Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer from 2024,” Marko stated.
“There will be new sponsors and also a new name.
“The orientation is clear: based on Red Bull Racing, as far as the regulation allow. Do-it-yourself constructions are the wrong way.”
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool.
Many rumours began to circulate at the beginning of the year about a possible sale of the team. This derived from the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz. Rumours also began of the team’s move from Faenza, Italy to Bicester, UK, very close to the Red Bull Racing factory, which is located in Milton Keynes. The fact of moving the team near the champions would be with the purpose of saving money and increasing the union between both teams.
Likewise, Red Bull seems to be unhappy with Nyck de Vries’ performance in his Formula 1 season. In 6 out of 8 races, the Dutchman has finished behind his teammate, Yuki Tsnuoda. The future driver line-up may also change next year if de Vries fails to increase his performance in the AT04 for the remainder of the 2023 season of motorsport’s top category.
“The decision has been made. AlphaTauri will remain fully owned by Red Bull and will continue to be run as a junior team. The cooperation with Red Bull Racing will be closer, also in terms of cost cap and synergies,” Helmut Marko affirmed regarding AlphaTauri’s future.
