McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has become the first Formula 1 figure to publicly slam Ferrari and the FIA over the Scuderia’s signing of safety director Laurent Mekies.
On Wednesday it was confirmed Mekies would be leaving his current position at the end of June and joining the technical team at Maranello in September, a swoop similar to that Renault made for soon to be executive director Marcin Budkowsky.
What is mostly annoying the McLaren chief is the six-month period of absence from any F1 activities Mekies will serve before joining Ferrari breaks an agreement put in place after the French manufacturer agreed to delay Budkowsky’s start date last year.
“We very unhappy with the FIA for losing yet another key employee to a racing team,” Boullier told Motorsport.com on Thursday.
“Especially after it was agreed by all teams at the last Strategy Group meeting that no key technical FIA employees would be employed by a race team within 12 months of leaving the FIA.
“Ferrari went against the gentleman’s agreement and the FIA has not enforced it.”
The potential for FIA officials to pass on their knowledge of other car designs to a new employer is what causes the stern response from those teams who are particularly known to push the boundaries of both design and the rules.
It will be interesting to see if any fallout from Ferrari’s decision to hire Mekies will continue in Australia next weekend.
