'Important Ferrari staff member follows Mekies and leaves for AlphaTauri'

Mekies worked at AlphaTauri - then called Toro Rosso - as chief engineer in the past. Matassa also has history with the Italian formation. Among other roles, he was a race engineer to Daniil Kvyat and later Carlos Sainz. In 2018, he left for Ferrari to become Kimi Raikkonen's race engineer.

In recent years, Matassa was responsible for talent development at Ferrari. So now, after a six-season tenure, he returns to Faenza. At Ferrari, Jock Clear has been appointed as a temporary replacement.

According to Corriere dello Sport, it cannot be ruled out that more Ferrari employees will follow Mekies and make the move to AlphaTauri.

At Ferrari, there have been quite a few organisational changes ahead of the new season. Not only have Mekies and Matassa left, Ignacio Rueda - the Scuderia's strategic team leader until last season - will no longer attend Grands Prix. The Spaniard will reportedly start working on the brand's sports cars.