Red Bull family wins with Bayer: 'One of the architects of budget cap'

Peter Bayer has been appointed AlphaTauri's new CEO and will have to manage the F1 team together with Laurent Mekies, who comes after the retirement of current team boss Franz Tost. Bayer says several teams were interested in his arrival, and he knows why.

Bayer resigned from his duties at the FIA with immediate effect at the beginning of the summer of last year. As secretary-general of sport, he was in charge of all sports activities at the FIA. He was also involved in the formation of the budget cap in Formula 1. This made him a sought-after employee for several F1 teams. Bayer sat out his 'gardening leave' and chose AlphaTauri.

Bayer kept in touch with the entire paddock after his time at the FIA. In February and March, several teams approached him, wondering what his plans for the future were. Speaking to PlanetF1.com, Bayer says: "The complexity of the sport, especially around the cost cap, has surprised a couple of the teams, and, as one of the architects, they thought I could be useful for them, given the network and the knowledge about that."

So, in the end, AlphaTauri won. Bayer: "This year, in March, I had contact again with the Red Bull family, and then things went quite quickly, actually. With the new management in place, I met Oliver Mintzlaff, the new CEO, and spoke again to Franz, Helmut, Christian, and the owners. Within weeks, it was decided."