While waiting for the announcement of the new name – Racing Bulls – AlphaTauri finds itself in the midst of a very important organic-strategic reorganization for the present and the future.
Having thwarted the threat of a sale, the team based in Faenza and in the hands of the Red Bull Group is at the center of a manipulation that will have to give it a new shape, but also new opportunities to return to growth, abandoning the last positions of the general classification Manufacturers that he has often inhabited in the last 2 seasons.
In the reorganization project of the Italian-Austrian team, however, it seems that the Faenza base is losing more and more importance. AlphaTauri's aerodynamic sector is located in Bicester, England, but according to what Motorsport.com has learned, the structure will be gradually abandoned by the staff of the team directed by Laurent Mekies.
The aerodynamicists will be incorporated into the Milton Keynes structure, at the Milton Keynes Performance Center where the world champion Red Bulls are born. Yet another step towards an even stronger, deeper bond between the two teams. The words of Peter Bayer directly supported this indiscretion.
“The Milton Keynes Performance Center is needed because the Bicester facility is becoming too small,” Bayer told Motorsport.com. “We don't have parking and we don't have a canteen.”
“We have to be an attractive employer. First of all, of course, it starts with the team as such, with the identity, but then there are also the structures and the opportunities for people to have a career path. That's why facilities will be extremely important.”
“Also, Bicester's lease is about to expire, so we had to move anyway. And the advantage of being closer to Red Bull Racing and their campus is that it will be easier for us to work in the wind tunnel and simulator. So all this will make life easier for all engineers.”
Bayer went further, underlining how Faenza – home to AlphaTauri's headquarters – is very beautiful, but equally a problem. And for several reasons. The territory, according to what was declared by the team's CEO, offers no guarantees to those who work there. He means school and work services. Important aspects, especially if you are running a campaign to recruit new staff.
“In terms of moving personnel, we still have aerodynamicists and designers, and the model shop is in the UK,” he said.
“But we are currently running an intense recruitment drive and we are happy to offer the best British talent a job in the UK. Because for them, I'm sorry to say, Faenza is beautiful, but it's a problem.”
“I'll give you my personal example. When I started, I took my wife and we drove to Faenza. She said: 'Oh, it's beautiful'. We ate a pizza and drove to the sea. And then he asked me, 'So, what about school?' I said, 'I don't think there is one.' 'What about potential job opportunities for me?' 'I don't think there are any.' If you don't speak Italian and if your children are no longer babies, the move is very difficult, to be honest.”
“I believe a couple of British engineers will return to Milton Keynes. We have offered the opportunity for Italians who want to move to do so, but there is no obligation. But it is clear that the majority of the new hires are British.”
Bayer's words will cause quite a bit of discussion. A stance from the governor of Emilia Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, cannot be ruled out, as he will probably feel implicated by the words of the former FIA member regarding the educational and work opportunities in Romagna.
Then, from a purely sporting point of view, doubts and suspicions about the increasingly strong synergy between Red Bull and AlphaTauri (Racing Bulls) will increase. The staff of the two teams will work closely together and strong suspicions regarding possible circumvention of the Budget Cap cannot be ruled out, with one of the two teams potentially acting as a test bed for the other. We are only talking about possible scenarios, there is nothing concrete yet, but if some team principals – including Zak Brown – had already raised several suspicions a few weeks ago, the situation will only become more heated.
This will most likely be one of the hottest topics of the winter, waiting to discover the cars, the tests and the first races of the new Formula 1 season.
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