New rules likely to be introduced for the F1 2026 campaign look set to ban staff from instantly transferring between teams.
Red Bull raised eyebrows in the days after the British Grand Prix after it sacked team boss Christian Horner and immediately moved Laurent Mekies, team principal at Racing Bulls, into the role.
F1 poised to introduce transfer rules after Laurent Mekies appointment
Concerns surrounding the relationship between some teams have existed for a considerable period. Most teams have a relationship with a rival of sorts, though typically limited to a technical collaboration, such as the relationship between Ferrari and Sauber, or Mercedes and Williams.
The glaring exception to that is the link between Red Bull and Racing Bulls, organisations that share common ownership. That has seen staff immediately transition between the two organisations previously, though Mekies’ move took things to an all-new level.
Formula 1 teams work hard to protect their intellectual property, employing rigorous security processes that are supported by regulations which prohibit them from obtaining the IP of their rivals. In 2007, McLaren was caught in possession of Ferrari designs and was fined $100 million and thrown out of that year’s championship.
While that places hurdles in the way of moving data or physical information, there is no way of policing the knowledge and experience of an individual. As such, teams typically employ gardening leave as a way to reduce the relevance and freshness of the information an individual can share.
Some exceptions to that have been made in the past – Jonathan Wheatley made the immediate switch from Red Bull to Sauber, and James Vowles from Mercedes to Williams – however, the general consensus is that a senior figure will serve anywhere from six to 12 months on the sidelines.
It is for that reason that Alpine’s new managing director, Steve Nielsen, who is joining from an operational role within Formula One Management, is unable to join the Enstone operation until September – three months after his announcement.
However, Red Bull can sidestep that by promoting from its junior team, as it has done in the case of Mekies last week.
While the concern does not regard Mekies as an individual, his promotion highlighted the disparity that exists between the two Red Bull-owned teams and the rest of the field, which does not have the ability to move staff between teams.
Staff moving organisations quickly does not breach the regulations, though it does draw into question the sporting fairness of the current model.
It’s believed that aspect of Mekies’ move caught the attention of the FIA, and saw concerns that have existed within the paddock for some time resurface. In response, there are now plans to introduce regulations to manage the way staff are allowed to transfer between teams.
PlanetF1.com understands that will include a period of mandatory gardening leave, which will be laid out in Section F of next year’s revamped regulations.
From F1 2026, the sporting, technical, and financial (team and engine) regulations will be bundled together into a single document, with each specific element having its own section.
Section F of the regulations will cover operational elements of the sport – items that fall outside the traditional headings.
The way in which Mekies was promoted appears to fly in the face of statements made at the start of F1 2024 when similar concerns were raised after several backroom staff made quick transitions from Milton Keynes to Faenza – or the other way around.
“The two teams are totally separate,” then Red Bull team boss Christian Horner argued early last year.
“One is based in Italy and one is based in the UK. The one that is based in Italy has a far larger turnover of staff that end up in Maranello than end up in Milton Keynes.
“They have different personalities, they have different character, and they comply continually with the regulations.
“Indeed, the relationship is far less tight than some of the teams that enjoy very tight relationships with their engine manufacturer.”
However, since then, the operations have moved closer. Racing Bulls now boasts an expanded UK facility, which came online in January.
“I think the biggest effect on the 2025 car is probably some of the changes we’ve made to our processes – some of the people we have managed to add to certain areas where we want to be stronger,” Racing Bulls’ CEO Peter Bayer told PlanetF1.com late last year.
It is the personnel issue that Zak Brown has taken issue with.
No other team on the grid has common ownership, a legacy of F1’s financially unstable past where simply saving teams was more important than independent ownership or purity of competition.
“No other major sport, to my knowledge, allows co-ownership of the two teams that compete against each other,” the McLaren boss noted last year.
It was a point rebuffed by Horner, who cited the energy drinks company’s involvement in football, a sport where 180 clubs globally are part of ‘multi-club ownership’ groups, including a quarter of top-tier teams in Europe.
Red Bull own two teams that compete in the Champions League,” Horner rebuked.
“And one has to take a look back at the history of where this started.
“Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley approached Dietrich Mateschitz back in 2005 to acquire what was then the Minardi Formula 1 team that was perennially struggling, insolvent, and on the brink of bankruptcy.
“Dietrich Mateschitz stepped in and he acquired the team and shored the team up and obviously then he invested significantly in the Faenza facilities.
“We then faced the financial crisis of 2008 and as other manufacturers chose that opportunity and took that opportunity to leave the sport, I think four of them left at that point, Red Bull remained resolute.
“The regulations then evolved obviously and the Faenza based team had to become their own manufacturer, so further investment was made in the infrastructure.
“Then COVID where Red Bull once again stepped up and stuck by both teams,” he added.
“In fact, Red Bull were responsible for getting Formula 1 going again after COVID, with two races that were introduced.
“So the commitment that Red Bull has made to Formula 1, the commitment that Red Bull has made for these two teams, is outstanding and should be applauded and be grateful for rather than be derided and try to compromise.”
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And while for the most part Red Bull’s commitment and investment in the sport should be applauded, the way in which Mekies was appointed reopened old wounds and underscored a need to address an issue that has been outstanding for some time.
While Red Bull is arguably the team most able to use and gain advantage from moving staff, it’s not alone. There have been limited examples of similar moves previously, such as Simone Resta to Haas from Ferrari in 2021.
The Ferrari-Haas relationship is a close one, very much by design, with the American-owned operation boasting a design office within the Scuderia’s Maranello campus, overlooking the Fiorano test track.
“Those persons will be in Maranello in a completely separate building to Scuderia Ferrari, so they will not have access to the Scuderia Ferrari building,” said Mattia Binotto, then Ferrari’s team principal, at the time of Resta’s transition.
“It is separate and they will remain in the area.
“It’s not a junior team and we are not exchanging information beyond what’s possible by the regulations, so it’s a completely different organisation independent to Ferrari.”
Resta’s move wasn’t isolated, with a small team also swapping hats at the same time as considerations surrounding the cost cap saw a handful of individuals moved instantly across.
“If I have to reduce my organisation, I’m certainly more happy to know that those guys are joining Haas and reinforcing their team instead of being simply on the market or available to whatever other teams,” said Binotto.
“So that’s certainly the way we are looking at the collaborations.
“We tried to create new synergies with our customer teams looking to the future,” he added.
“You have seen recently, for example, a technical senior person like Simone Resta has moved into the Haas organisation (in) an important and significant role.
“He is not the only one who will move into the Haas organisation. A few other technicians will move, reducing our organisation which is required for the budget cap, but strengthening somehow the organisation of our customers and I would say partner teams.”
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