AlphaTauri is set to undergo another team name change for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Next year, there will be a leadership change at the team as Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer will take over from Franz Tost.
However, the changes will run much deeper, as revealed by Dr Helmut Marko, an advisor for the Red Bull squad.
As well as the changes at the top of the team, AlphaTauri will take on a new identity for the second time in four years.
The Red Bull sister team ran as Toro Rosso from 2006 to 2019, before it rebranded to AlphaTauri in 2020.
In addition to the new name, AlphaTauri is set to move closer to Red Bull’s design philosophy next year amid the Milton Keynes-based squad’s dominant start to the 2023 campaign.
“AlphaTauri will have two new leaders in 2024, Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.
“There will be new sponsors and a new name. The direction is clear: to follow Red Bull Racing as far as the regulations allow. Own designs are the wrong way to go.”
Laurent Mekies will leave Ferrari and join AlphaTauri next year
F1’s regulations forbid teams from directly sharing data to replicate a car, however outfits are allowed to attempt to mimic concepts from their rivals.
Both the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams run the Red Bull Powertrains engine, a division that was set up following Honda’s departure at the end of 2021.
AlphaTauri is also yet to confirm its driver line-up for next year.
Currently it is fielding Yuki Tsunoda in his third year alongside rookie Nyck de Vries.
While Tsunoda has impressed with his drives this year, some of de Vries’ performances have left his future in F1 beyond 2023 in question.
“Basically, Yuki is having a very good season with unfortunate results and penalties, but the performance is right,” Marko said.
“With Nyck de Vries, however, we are not satisfied, we are looking at that as well.”
AlphaTauri currently sits in last place in the Constructors’ Championship, falling behind Williams at the most recent grand prix from Canada.
Source: Read More