The deal Horner (Red Bull) made to get Mekies from Ferrari quicker!

When Formula 1 arrives in Bahrain next month for the first and only test, there will be familiar faces in the cockpits of the 20 cars. All the drivers who finished the 2023 F1 season will start the 2024 racing year with the same team. There is no change for the drivers, but deeper in the paddock, there are significant changes. Of particular note were those who left Red Bull Racing.

Rob Marshall is one of the best-known people to leave Red Bull (as early as last spring). But the Brit had to wait a while before he could actually start working for his new employer, McLaren, as Technical Director of Engineering & Design. But it did not stop there: the Austrian team - who have won the constructors' world title for two years running - also saw several people go to Ferrari.

Vasseur and Horner in negotiations

They have all started working for the Italian team much earlier than originally planned. Here's the thing: Red Bull - and in this case, Christian Horner - spent months negotiating with Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur about recruiting Laurent Mekies for Visa Cash App RB. The Frenchman will be the team's new boss from the start of 2024.

Ferrari only wanted to let Mekies go early if there was something in return. With Horner, Ferrari negotiated that the engineers, who would move to Maranello anyway, 'only' had to spend six months on the sidelines. Usually, that period of 'gardening leave' is much longer.